KIT Junior Research Group
"Liquid metal-based heat storage -
key to CO2-free high-temperature processes"
The use of systems for location-independent, cycle-stable and inexpensive energy storage on a power plant scale is crucial for the successful implementation of the energy transition. Here, high-temperature heat storage systems represent a key technology. They can be used, for example, to enable efficient large-scale electricity storage by means of electricity-heat-electricity storage in a power plant process and thus to make the energy system more flexible. They can also be used in the field of sector coupling, which means that heat networks could be supplied with renewable electricity. In industry, they can also supply high-temperature process heat fed from fluctuating regenerative sources on demand, such as is required in the chemical industry or metal processing.
The use of liquid metals in heat storage systems, which is investigated in the KIT junior research group of Dr. Klarissa Niedermeier "Heat storage based on liquid metal - key for CO2-free high-temperature processes", enables heat storage from medium to very high temperatures with excellent heat transfer rates. This results in the highest levels of efficiency and the development of fields of application that have not previously been accessible to regenerative sources. To this end, we are investigating heat storage systems from laboratory to pilot scale in experimental operation, testing the use of components (pumps, valves) for circulation operation and developing our own measurement technology for measurements in the flowing liquid metal. The work is completed by comprehensive numerical simulation of the complex material and heat transport processes in the heat storage systems.
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Contact:
Dr.-Ing. Klarissa Niedermeier
klarissa.niedermeier∂kit.edu
+49 721 60826902