Advancing pumped thermal energy storage performance and cost using silica storage media

Joshua McTigue, Jason Hirschey and Zhiwen Ma

Applied Energy, 2025, vol. 387, issue C, No S0306261925002971

Abstract: Pumped Thermal Energy Storage (PTES) is an electricity storage system that is suitable for long-duration energy storage (10−1000 h) due to its low marginal cost of energy capacity. We present a techno-economic model of a PTES system that uses particle thermal energy storage. Particles have low costs and can be operated over a wide temperature range leading to increased efficiency and reduced costs compared to other PTES designs. We show how the round-trip efficiency, specific power output, capital cost, and levelized cost of storage (LCOS) depend on parameters such as the pressure ratio, heat exchanger approach temperature and pressure loss, and maximum temperature. We compare particle-PTES (P-PTES) performance to PTES which uses liquid thermal energy storage – i.e. molten salt hot storage and methanol cold storage (MS-PTES). We find that using silica particles for storage advances PTES technology: P-PTES can be operated at higher maximum temperatures than MS-PTES. Furthermore, P-PTES can achieve lower approach temperatures in the heat exchangers than MS-PTES without increasing capital costs, because P-PTES uses direct-contact heat transfer in fluidized bed heat exchangers. As a result, we find that P-PTES systems achieve higher round-trip efficiency than MS-PTES (66 % versus 57 %) and lower LCOS (e.g. 0.115 ± 0.03 $/kWhe versus 0.171 ± 0.04 $/kWhe for 10 h discharge). The low cost of particles and containment means that P-PTES can provide long-duration energy storage at low capital cost per unit energy capacity. For example, the total capital cost per unit energy reduces from 245 $/kWhe at 10 h to 38 $/kWhe at 100 h. These costs are considerably lower than MS-PTES (72 $/kWhe at 100 h) and also outcompete current and future Li-ion battery system projections (100–265 $/kWhe).

Keywords: Pumped thermal energy storage; Carnot battery; Particle thermal energy storage; Long duration energy storage; Molten salts (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125567

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