Lecture

Energy Storage: Overview and Technologies

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

In course

ME-460: Renewable energy (for ME)

The students assess and compare all renewable energy resources, their real potentials, limitations and best applications (energy services). Solar thermal, solar electric, wood, bioliquids, biogas, hydropower incl. tidal and wave power, wind, geothermal inc ...

Description

This lecture covers the importance of energy storage in bridging the gap between energy supply and demand, discussing various storage technologies such as pumped hydro, compressed air, flywheels, thermal storage, and chemical storage. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of energy storage systems, their environmental impact, and their economic aspects. The lecture also delves into the different types of energy storage, their working principles, and their applications in the context of a future energy economy.

This video is available exclusively on Mediaspace for a restricted audience. Please log in to MediaSpace to access it if you have the necessary permissions.

Watch on Mediaspace

Instructors (2)

Jan Van Herle

Born in Antwerp, Belgium. In Switzerland since 1983. Became Swiss citizen in 2004 out of conviction of principles of democracy and bottom-up participation. No double nationality. Village Council Member for 2 five-year mandates in 2006-2016. 1987 : Chemist from Basel University (CH). 1988 : Post-graduate IT diploma from Basel Engineering School. 1989 : Industry internship ABB Baden (CH). 1990-1993 : PhD Thesis EPFL, on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell cathode reaction mechanisms. 1994-1995 : Japanese Postdoctoral Fellowship in Tsukuba, Japan, on ceramic powders. 1995-2000 : Researcher at EPFL, Dpt. Chemistry : project responsible in PPM2 (materials), FP4-BriteEuram, NEDO (Japan), Swiss Gas Union (CH, oxygen membranes). 1998-2000 : Masters in Energy Technology, EPFL. 2000 : Cofounder of HTceramix SA (EPFL spin-off), now based in Yverdon (14 employees). Taken over by SOLIDpower in 2007, now 250 employees with 70 MCHF raised. 2000 : 1st Assistant and lecturer at LENI (STI-IGM) : fuel cell group responsible, projects on biogas (Federal Energy Office), woodgas (CCEM), fuel cell stacking (CTI, FP6, FNS), ceramic separation membranes (COST, FNS), microtubes (STI Seed), stability/lifetime/reliability in fuel cells (Electricité de France, swisselectric research). Currently 4 Ph D theses ongoing, 14 theses concluded, of which 5 colateral with SB and IMX. M.E.R. since Nov 2008. Total funding raised so far >18 MCHF (50% as main applicant; 30% outside CH; 20% industry). Scientific output : >135 peer-reviewed publications, >120 conference papers, 40 invited presentations (8 keynotes), >70 granted proposals. Fluent in 5 languages (Dutch, French, German ( Swiss-german), English, Spanish).

Sophia Haussener

Sophia Haussener is an Associate Professor heading the Laboratory of Renewable Energy Science and Engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Her current research is focused on providing design guidelines for thermal, thermochemical, and photoelectrochemical energy conversion reactors through multi-physics modeling. Her research interests include: thermal sciences, fluid dynamics, charge transfer, electro-magnetism, and thermo/electro/photochemistry in complex multi-phase media on multiple scales. She received her MSc (2007) and PhD (2010) in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich. Between 2011 and 2012, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Joint Center of Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP) and the Energy Environmental Technology Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). She has published over 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. She has been awarded the ETH medal (2011), the Dimitris N. Chorafas Foundation award (2011), the ABB Forschungspreis (2012), the Prix Zonta (2015), the Global Change Award (2017), and the Raymond Viskanta Award (2019), and is a recipient of a Starting Grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation (2014). She is a deputy leader in the Swiss Competence Center for Energy Research (SCCER) on energy storage and acts as a Member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Helmholtz Zentrum.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Environmental science

Environmental policy: Topics in environmental policy

Energy engineering

Energy storage: Topics in energy storage

Related concepts (32)

Grid energy storage

Grid energy storage (also called large-scale energy storage) is a collection of methods used for energy storage on a large scale within an electrical power grid. Electrical energy is stored during times when electricity is plentiful and inexpensive (especially from intermittent power sources such as renewable electricity from wind power, tidal power and solar power) or when demand is low, and later returned to the grid when demand is high, and electricity prices tend to be higher.

Solar energy

Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essential source of renewable energy, and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on how they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power.

Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. Renewable resources include sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy sources are sustainable, some are not. For example, some biomass sources are considered unsustainable at current rates of exploitation. Renewable energy is often used for electricity generation, heating and cooling.

Compressed air

Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air is an important medium for transfer of energy in industrial processes, and is used for power tools such as air hammers, drills, wrenches, and others, as well as to atomize paint, to operate air cylinders for automation, and can also be used to propel vehicles. Brakes applied by compressed air made large railway trains safer and more efficient to operate. Compressed air brakes are also found on large highway vehicles.

Compressed-air vehicle

A compressed-air vehicle (CAV) is a transport mechanism fueled by tanks of pressurized atmospheric gas and propelled by the release and expansion of the gas within a pneumatic motor. CAV's have found application in torpedoes, locomotives used in situations where standard locomotives are a hazard, and early prototype submarines.

Related lectures (64)

Hydropower Innovations: Water Turbines and Pump-Turbines

Covers the importance of water turbines and pump-turbines in advancing hydropower technology and sustainability.

Decarbonization: Energy Transition & Sustainability

Delves into the feasibility of decarbonizing the electricity sector by 2050 using renewable energies, emphasizing economic competitiveness and sustainability.

Renewable Energies: Technologies and Transition

Explores renewable energy technologies, transition dynamics, and storage solutions for a sustainable future.

Decarbonized World: Challenges and Solutions

Explores the feasibility of achieving 100% renewable energy systems and the modeling of the EU power sector.

Challenges and Supports to a Decarbonized World