Speaker
Description
The global transition toward a low-carbon energy system relies on the rapid and large-scale deployment of renewables. However, they face two challenges: (i) wind and sun are not dispatchable, and (ii) electrification cannot provide high-temperature heat for industries. Energy storage generally addresses the first challenge. Metal fuels could help tackle both challenges at once.
Metal fuels have been recently proposed as high energy-dense and carbon-free energy carriers. Iron powder combines safety, abundance, and low cost. The stored energy is released by burning the metal powder. Then, the produced iron oxides are collected and regenerated in a reduction process using green hydrogen, bringing back the powder to its initial state and closing the metal-fuel cycle.
Despite progress on designing optimal iron burners, only few studies address the application of this technology inside a global energy system. Therefore, based on a fossil-free scenario for Europe by 2050, we investigated the potential of metal-fuels to substitute and complement other energy storage technologies.
Our results show that iron powder could substitute NH3 and CH4 used in CCGT to produce 100 TWh of electricity per year by retrofitting coal power plants, mostly from Eastern Europe. Regarding their combustion temperature above 2000°C, iron particles could also provide high-temperature heat, complementing biomass combustion. Accordingly, we explored the technical challenges to use iron powder as a source for high-temperature heat used in cement, glass, steel, and chemicals production. For most applications, collecting the burned particles and avoiding that they contaminate the products are key aspects.
| If your abstract is not accepted for an oral presentation, would you be interested in presenting it as a poster instead? | Yes |
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| If accepted by the Scientific Board, I agree to have my presentation/poster and abstract published on the Belgian Climate Centre websites and social media. | Yes |
