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For example, pumped storage, with its large energy storage capacity and high efficiency, has outstanding advantages in peak shaving and valley filling on the grid side.
However, on the one hand, pumped storage is only suitable for development in areas with relatively abundant water resources. On the other hand, the scale and location are not flexible enough, and lithium battery and hydrogen energy storage are still needed to supplement the power generation side and the user side.
1. Hydrogen energy storage technology
Hydrogen energy storage technology is to use surplus electricity to produce hydrogen that can be stored for a long time, and then burn the gas in a conventional gas-fired power plant to generate electricity, or use fuel cells to generate electricity for transportation, combined heat and power and other scenarios.
In other words, it is the use of surplus, off-peak or low-quality electricity to produce hydrogen on a large scale, and convert electricity into hydrogen energy for storage. When the power output is insufficient, hydrogen is converted into electric energy through fuel cells or other means to be transmitted to the grid, which plays the role of power regulation.
For hydrogen energy storage, its technical paths are rich and diverse, and it can be flexibly applied in multiple scenarios. For example, solid-state hydrogen storage can be used to manufacture hydrogen storage modules for home energy storage, pipeline hydrogen transportation can be used to produce low-cost power transmission in remote areas of northwest China and offshore wind power.
And liquid hydrogen, alcohol ammonia hydrogen storage, and salt cavern hydrogen storage can be used for large-scale cross-season energy storage in hydrogen storage power stations.
At present, hydrogen energy storage can generally be divided into three directions. In other words, electrolysis hydrogen production is the source of the hydrogen energy storage industry chain.
2. Hydrogen fuel cell energy conversion process
The cost and benefits of hydrogen storage are influenced by multi-dimensional factors such as application scenarios, business models, grid-connected and off-grid usage, renewable energy and grid-connected electricity prices, and regional electricity consumption.
Costs vary in different considerations. Compared with other conventional energy storage methods, hydrogen energy storage has a larger storage scale, up to one million kilowatts.
And a longer storage time, which can achieve seasonal storage according to the output differences of solar, wind, and water resources, so as to meet the requirements of long-term and large-capacity energy storage.
3. Advantages of hydrogen in long-term energy storage technology
Efficiency is the key to the overall cost of energy. For the distribution and storage of power stations, energy storage is rooted in the overall project and more like an auxiliary role. On the one hand, it is characterized by the ability to achieve large-scale storage. Check 12v 100ah lithium ion batteries.
Second, its total cost is more closely related to the cost of generating electricity. With the rapid decline in the cost of wind power, photovoltaic and other technologies, if other construction inputs are not included, considering the loss of energy conversion, the power generation cost of energy storage can increase the utilization of power generation.
Energy storage technologies are divided into thermal energy storage, electric energy storage, and hydrogen energy storage. Among them, pumped hydroelectric storage and electrochemical energy storage are the two most commonly used methods, but there are still many problems in them.
Electrochemical energy storage has problems such as poor safety, resource shortages, low actual and effective energy storage efficiency, and short distribution and storage times. Pumped storage has the disadvantages of uneven geographical distribution of water resources and long payback periods.
In contrast, the biggest advantage of hydrogen energy storage is that it can achieve long-term energy storage. Not only that, hydrogen energy storage, as a clean, efficient and sustainable carbon-free energy storage technology, also has incomparable advantages over other energy storage technologies:
- Achieve long-term energy storage
In terms of new energy consumption, hydrogen energy storage has obvious advantages over other energy storage in terms of discharge time (hours to quarters) and capacity scale (100 gigawatt level).
Using chemical chain hydrogen storage, hydrogen energy is stored in the form of chemical chain, conversion efficiency can reach about 70%, energy storage time can be counted in years, and energy storage time can be calculated in months by using solid hydrogen storage, organic liquid hydrogen storage, etc.
Compared to large-scale energy storage technologies such as pumped hydro and compressed air energy storage, hydrogen energy storage does not require specific geographical conditions and does not damage the ecological environment.
- Large-scale and strong economics
As energy storage time increases, the marginal value of the energy storage system decreases, and the total cost of affordability will also decrease. The cost of large-scale hydrogen storage is an order of magnitude lower than that of electricity storage.
- Flexible storage and transportation methods
Hydrogen energy storage can be carried out by means of long-tube trailers, pipeline hydrogen transportation, natural gas hydrogen blending, ultra-high-voltage transmission-receiver hydrogen production and liquid ammonia, etc., without the limitation of transmission and distribution networks, so as to achieve large-scale and cross-regional peak shaving.
- High density of liquid hydrogen
The density of liquid hydrogen energy is 143 MJ/kg, which can be converted into 40 kWh/kg, which is about 2.7 times that of gasoline, diesel and natural gas, and 100 times that of electrochemical energy storage (depending on the type, 100~240 Wh/kg). Hydrogen storage is one of the few ways to store more than 100GWh.
Hydrogen is an extremely flammable substance, while ammonia is not flammable, which makes ammonia safer than hydrogen and more convenient for industrial transportation. Other ways like 12v 200ah deep cycle battery.
Ammonia also has a higher heat capacity and can help control storage temperature, reducing storage costs. It is non-flammable, easy to liquefy, easy to store, easy to transport, and has other advantages, making it an important carrier for green hydrogen utilization. Its higher safety, more reliable storage capacity, and lower cost make it a safer and more sustainable way to store and transport hydrogen.
4. Conclusion
In short, hydrogen energy storage can achieve cross-regional and long-term energy storage to achieve the required power capacity or time span under seasonal imbalance, which has become an important way to solve the problem of wind, solar and water curtailment, and ensure the safe and stable operation of a high proportion of renewable energy systems in the future.
In the long run, it also indicates that long-term energy storage will remain very strong, and the development of the hydrogen energy industry will also usher in new opportunities.
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