Life Cycle Assessment of a Reversible Heat Pump–Organic Rankine Cycle–Heat Storage System with Geothermal Heat Supply

Daniel Scharrer, Bernd Eppinger, Pascal Schmitt, Johan Zenk, Peter Bazan, Jürgen Karl, Stefan Will, Marco Pruckner and Reinhard German
Additional contact information
Daniel Scharrer: Laboratory of Computer Networks and Communication Systems, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Martensstr 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Bernd Eppinger: Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Am Weichselgarten 8, 91058 Erlangen-Tennenlohe, Germany
Pascal Schmitt: Laboratory of Computer Networks and Communication Systems, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Martensstr 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Johan Zenk: Laboratory of Computer Networks and Communication Systems, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Martensstr 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Peter Bazan: Laboratory of Computer Networks and Communication Systems, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Martensstr 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Jürgen Karl: Institue of Energy Process Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Fürther Strasse 244f, 90429 Nürnberg, Germany
Stefan Will: Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Am Weichselgarten 8, 91058 Erlangen-Tennenlohe, Germany
Marco Pruckner: Laboratory of Computer Networks and Communication Systems, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Martensstr 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Reinhard German: Laboratory of Computer Networks and Communication Systems, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Martensstr 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-19

Abstract: The life cycle assessment of components is becoming increasingly important for planning and construction. In this paper, a novel storage technology for excess electricity consisting of a heat pump, a heat storage and an organic rankine cycle is investigated with regards to its environmental impact. Waste heat is exergetically upgraded, stored in a hot water storage unit and afterwards reconverted to electricity when needed. Such a pilot plant on a lab scale is currently built in Germany. The first part of this paper focuses on geothermal energy as a potential heat source for the storage system and its environmental impact. For a large scale application, geothermal hotspots in Germany are further investigated. The second part analyzes the storage technology itself and compares it to the impacts of commonly used battery storage technologies. Especially during the manufacturing process, significantly better global warming potential values are shown compared to lithium-ion and lead batteries. The least environmental impact while operating the system is with wind power, which suggests an implementation of the storage system into the grid in the northern part of Germany.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; heat pump; organic rankine cycle; heat storage; electricity storage; geothermal energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/12/3253/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/12/3253/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:12:p:3253-:d:375511

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().