What is the development direction and prospect of energy storage technology?

Energy storage technology development is the guarantee of clean energy development and the key to the safe and economic operation of power grid.Energy storage technology can increase the energy storage in electric power system,making the "rigid" power system of real-time balance of power more "flexible", especially slow a large-scale clean energy power grid volatility, to improve the safety of power grid operation, economy and flexibility.Energy storage technology is generally divided into thermal energy storage and electrical energy storage, the application of global energy Internet is mainly electrical energy storage in the future .

Electrical energy storage technology is mainly divided into three categories:physical energy storage,electrochemical energy storage and electromagnetic energy storage.

Physical energy storage

Pumped storage is one of the most mature of the energy storage technology, storage cost is low, has implemented large-scale application.The world pumped storage units with a total installed capacity of more than 100 million kilowatts. Japan, the United States and China have the largest installed in the top three.The world is rich in hydropower resources, and through rational use of the terrain, large capacity pumped storage units can be built to better guarantee the safety of power supply network.

Compressed air energy storage is the use of power system low battery, drive air compressor, air pressure into the large capacity gas storage chamber, compressed air is converted into electrical energy can be stored potential energy when the system capacity is insufficient, the compressed air is mixed with oil or natural gas combustion, push the gas turbine power generation, can meet the needs of system load.Compressed air energy storage with large capacity, long service life and economical, but Power generation needs to consume fossil energy, pollution and carbon emissions.

Electrochemical energy storage

Electrochemical energy storage is one of the forefront of energy storage technology.In recent years, electrochemical energy storage technologies such as sodium-sulfur batteries, liquid-flow batteries and lithium ion batteries have developed rapidly, enjoyed great development potential and broad application prospects, and are expected to take the lead in entering the stage of commercial development.In the future, breakthroughs in battery materials, manufacturing technology, system integration and operation and maintenance are needed to reduce manufacturing and operation costs.

Lead-acid battery has a history of more than 140 years, mature technology, low cost, high safety, is the most mature of battery energy storage technology, now more than half of the battery market, it is mainly used for electric bicycle.However, lead-acid batteries have low energy density, high quality and toxic materials, which are not suitable for power grid energy storage.

Sodium sulfur battery energy density is high, easy to modular manufacturing, transportation and installation, emergency power supply is suitable for the special load.

Liquid flow battery capacity, electrolyte recyclable, long cycle life, capacity and power can be designed separately.

Lithium ion battery is lithium ion compound as the anode, cathode of batteries for carbon materials.Lithium ion battery cycle performance is superior, the service life is long, do not contain toxic and harmful substances, known as green battery.At present, lithium ion batteries are widely used in mobile phones, laptops, electric vehicles and other fields, but the cost of a single charge and discharge cycle more than 1 yuan/KWH, applied to power system and large scale energy storage is lack of efficiency.

Metal air batteries is metal fuel instead of traditional fuel cell in the form of hydrogen energy, and a new type of fuel cell, with non-toxic, non-polluting, stable discharge voltage, large energy density, small internal resistance, long service life, the price is relatively low, technology requirements of many advantages.Metal air batteries rich cheap raw materials, can be recycled, is expected to become a new generation of green energy storage battery。

Electromagnetic energy storage

Super capacitor is developed and eighties of the 20th century by electrochemical polarization electrolyte energy storage components, energy storage process does not occur chemical reaction, because of the energy storage process is reversible, the super capacitor can be repeated charge and discharge hundreds of thousands of times.High power density, the super capacitor charge and discharge time is short, long cycle life, wide working temperature range, but the energy storage capacity is low, not suitable for mass storage grid.

Superconducting magnetic energy storage is made use of the characteristics of the superconductor resistance is zero energy storage device that has a large instantaneous power, light quality, small volume, no loss, the advantages of fast response, can be used to improve power system stability, improving the quality of power supply.Superconducting magnetic energy storage but low energy density, capacity is limited, and is subject to superconducting material technology, the future prospect is unclear.

The development direction and prospects

Large energy storage can be used in the global energy load of the Internet in valley.Pumped storage, compressed air energy storage, such as large and long time storage facilities, can be used for power grid peak shaving.Large flow batteries store energy and a lot of cycles, long life, can be used to supplement the load of power grid energy storage device.Hydrogen energy storage can be used to store the surplus of wind and solar power, for fuel cell powered cars.

Large power energy storage type can be used to bring down the large-scale clean energy fluctuations.Super capacitor, superconducting magnetic energy storage, flywheel energy storage type, such as sodium sulfur battery power energy storage equipment is mainly associated with large-scale renewable energy, the capacity of wind power, photovoltaic power generation can rapidly response to smooth fluctuations in renewable energy, to ensure the safety of power system real-time.

Small energy storage battery can be used for electric cars.The lithium battery, new type lead-acid batteries, metal air batteries energy storage devices, such as energy and power density is higher, but the battery identity is poorer, difficult to form the large capacity battery pack, shall not apply to the large power station, mainly used for electric cars.With the extension of battery life and the reduction of cost, energy storage battery can meet the needs of large-scale development of electric vehicles. In the future, the energy storage battery of electric vehicles will be connected to the global energy Internet. By reasonably arranging the charging time, the battery will assist the power grid to adjust the peak, so as to realize the low-valley charging and peak discharge.

The key to the progress of energy storage technology lies in the breakthrough of material technology. With the continuous innovation and development of new materials for energy storage, it is expected to make important breakthroughs in extending the service life of energy storage components, improving energy density, shortening charging time and reducing costs.

The page contains the contents of the machine translation.