MIT News December 5, 2018
A team of researchers in the US (MIT, Georgia Institute of Technology, National Renewable Energy Laboratory) has outlined their concept for a new renewable energy storage system, which they call Thermal Energy Grid Storage-Multi-Junction Photovoltaics (TEGS-MPV). The new design stores heat generated by excess electricity from solar or wind power in large tanks of white-hot molten silicon, which can withstand high temperatures of over 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit and then converts the light from the glowing metal back into electricity when it’s needed. Previously they developed a pump that could withstand such blistering heat and could conceivably pump liquid silicon through a renewable storage system. The researchers estimate that such a system would be vastly more affordable than lithium-ion batteries and estimate that the system would cost about half as much as pumped hydroelectric storage. They propose converting electricity generated by any renewable source, such as sunlight or wind, into thermal energy, via joule heating. The system could be paired with existing renewable energy systems, such as solar cells, to capture excess electricity during the day and store it for later use…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
MIT researchers propose a concept for a renewable storage system, pictured here, that would store solar and wind energy in the form of white-hot liquid silicon, stored in heavily insulated tanks. Image: Duncan MacGruer
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MIT researchers propose a concept for a renewable storage system, pictured here, that would store solar and wind energy in the form of white-hot liquid silicon, stored in heavily insulated tanks. Image: Duncan MacGruer