Storage of electrical energy with thermal storage and return through a thermodynamic cycle
AssigneeSiemens Aktiengesellschaft
InventorsTobias Jockenhoevel, Norbert König, Rainer Nies, Nicolas Vortmeyer, Erik Wolf
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device and a method for using overcapacities in the power grid is provided. In case of an oversupply of energy, the energy is transferred to a thermal storage device directly via a heating element and in the discharge case of the thermal storage device the heat is removed from the thermal storage device and made available to a thermodynamic cycle whereby electrical energy is produced. The heat from the thermal storage device is used to preheat air in an air feed line to a combustion chamber, or fuel is pre-heated using heat from the thermal storage device.
Claims15
An apparatus for utilizing overcapacities in a power network, comprising:
- a thermal storage unit;
- a heating element that stores energy from the power network in the thermal storage unit in the event of an oversupply of energy from the power network;
- and
- a heat exchanger including a primary side and a secondary side,
- wherein the primary side is coupled thermally to the thermal storage unit for extracting heat from the thermal storage unit,
- wherein the secondary side is connected to a power plant system,
- wherein the power plant system includes a compressor, a combustion chamber and a gas turbine,
- wherein the heat exchanger is thermally coupled on the secondary side to a fuel supply line of the combustion chamber, whereby a fuel being supplied to the combustion chamber is preheated via heat exchange with the secondary side,
- wherein the heat exchanger is further thermally coupled on the secondary side to an air supply line of the combustion chamber in order to preheat air, wherein the preheated fuel and air obtained with the heat extracted from the thermal storage unit increases thermal efficiency of the gas turbine without diverting thermal energy from a thermodynamic cycle of the power plant system.
A method for utilizing overcapacities in a power network, comprising:
- transferring energy, directly, in the event of an oversupply of energy by way of a heating element to a thermal storage unit;
- extracting heat from the thermal storage unit when the thermal storage unit is discharged;
- injecting the heat indirectly using a heat exchanger process via a heat exchanger into a thermodynamic cycle whereby electrical energy is generated by a power plant system including a compressor, a combustion chamber and a gas turbine, wherein the heat exchanger is thermally coupled to the thermal storage unit on a primary side;
- and
- feeding the heat from the thermal storage unit to the gas turbine,
- wherein the heat exchanger is thermally coupled on the secondary side to a fuel supply line of the combustion chamber and to an air supply line of the combustion chamber,
- wherein the method further comprises using the heat from the thermal storage unit to preheat a fuel in the fuel supply line of the combustion, whereby the fuel is preheated via the heat exchange process, and using the heat from the thermal storage unit to preheat air in the air supply line of the combustion chamber, wherein the preheated fuel and air obtained with the extracting of heat from the thermal storage unit increases thermal efficiency of the gas turbine without diverting thermal energy from the thermodynamic cycle of the power plant system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.