Renewable Electric Energy Storage Systems by Storage Spheres on the Seabed of Deep Lakes or Oceans

Horst Werner Schmidt-Böcking (), Gerhard Luther, Michael Düren, Matthias Puchta, Tom Bender, Andreas Garg, Bernhard Ernst and Heinz Frobeen
Additional contact information
Horst Werner Schmidt-Böcking: Institut für Kernphysik, Universität Frankfurt, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
Gerhard Luther: Forschungsstelle Zukunftsenergie, Universität des Saarlandes, Experimentalphysik, FSt. Zukunftsenergie, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
Michael Düren: II. Physikalisches Institut, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, 35392 Gießen, Germany
Matthias Puchta: Faculty of Supply Engineering, Ostfalia Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften, 38302 Wolfenbüttel, Germany
Tom Bender: Institute of Innovative Structures, University of Applied Sciences, 55116 Mainz, Germany
Andreas Garg: Institute of Innovative Structures, University of Applied Sciences, 55116 Mainz, Germany
Bernhard Ernst: Fraunhofer-Institut für Energiewirtschaft und Energiesystemtechnik IEE, 34117 Kassel, Germany
Heinz Frobeen: Frobeen Engineering, 89522 Heidenheim, Germany

Energies, 2023, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: This paper describes a new underwater pumped storage hydropower concept (U.PSH) that can store electric energy by using the high water pressure on the seabed or in deep lakes to accomplish the energy transition from fossil to renewable sources. Conventional PSH basically consists of two storage reservoirs (upper and lower lake) at different topographical heights. It needs special topographic conditions, which are only limitedly available in mountain regions. Furthermore, due to the lack of acceptance and the environmental impact, new conventional PSH projects are very unlikely to be built in larger numbers in Europe in the near future. The presented solution solves these issues by placing the storage system on the seabed, thus having other geographical requirements. It operates as follows: in contrast to well-known conventional PSH plants, which use two separated water reservoirs of different heights, the U.PSH concept uses the static pressure of the water column in deep waters by installing a hollow concrete sphere in deep water. Storage of electricity is achieved by using a reversible pump in the hollow sphere. Upon opening a valve, water flows into the sphere, driving a turbine/generator, thereby discharging the storage device. In order to re-charge, the water is pumped out of the sphere against the pressure of the surrounding water. The power and energy, respectively, are proportional to the surrounding water pressure at the seabed. The amount of energy stored depends on the water depth and the volume of the spheres. The spheres need a cable connection to the shore or to a close-by floating transformer station (e.g., an offshore wind plant). No other connections such as pipes are needed. The functional principle of this energy storage technology, its state of the art, its storage capacity and the shape and size of the required spheres are discussed in this paper.

Keywords: energy storage system; renewable energy; power systems (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/1/73/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/1/73/ (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:17:y:2023:i:1:p:73-:d:1305502

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 ().