REVOLUTIONARY ENERGY STORAGE CYCLE WITH CARBON FREE ALUMINIUM
Funding programme and area
HORIZON-CL5-2021-D2-01-08 - Cross-sectoral solutions for the climate transition
Duration
Starting date - July 01, 2022
End date - June 30, 2026
OUR ROLE
Dissemination and exploitation leader
COORDINATOR
TAEKNISETUR, ICELAND
GOAL
The REVEAL project develops a new technical solution for storing large amounts of energy with an energy storage density of more than 15 MWh/m3 at low cost for the production of heat and electricity in winter.
STORAGE CHARGING
The storage charging is using electricity from renewable sources to produce elementary aluminium (Al) from its oxidized state in the form of Al2O3 (Al3+). This process is an industrial process (800 °C) that uses novel inert electrodes in order to avoid any CO2 emissions which would otherwise arise from the conventional Hall-Héroult aluminium smelting process.
STORAGE DISCHARGING
The discharging or Al-to-Energy cycle is carried out using two different technologies and target applications. Low temperature discharging uses aluminium-water reactions up to 100 °C to produce hydrogen, heat and aluminium hydroxide. Heat produced by this process and also by a PEM fuel cell that converts hydrogen to electricity is recovered at a temperature level which can be used for space heating and domestic hot water. Additionally, a high temperature discharging process (> 200 °C) targets heat use for industrial application. In this process, aluminium is reacting with steam and producing Al2O3, hydrogen and heat.
