Sea-Bed Air Batteries Offer Less Expensive Long-Term Energy Storage
Sea-Bed Air Batteries Offer Less Expensive Long-Term Energy Storage mitechnews.com
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BaroMar Introduces Innovative Underwater Compressed Air Energy Storage System
TEL AVIV – Israeli company BaroMar is preparing to test a clever new angle on grid-level energy storage, which it says will be the cheapest way to stabilize renewable grids over longer time scales. This innovative system lets water do the work.
The Importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- SDG 13: Climate Action
The zero-carbon energy grid of the future looks remarkably complex. Solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources will all contribute power when they can – but this won’t match up with demand, so energy storage and release measures will be critical. And these will be needed for a range of different time scales. Some will need to smooth out daily peaks and troughs. Others will operate between days and weeks, filling in when overcast weather makes for a couple of days of poor solar output.
And then there’s long-duration storage, which will attempt to stash electrons for the winter when there’ll be a seasonal lull in solar generation that wind might not make up. That’s the area BaroMar wishes to address with its interesting take on compressed air energy storage (CAES).
Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) with a Twist
CAES involves using excess energy to run compressors, typically pumping air into large, rigid tanks where it can be stored at high pressures, then released through some kind of turbine that can drive a generator to recover the energy. It’s already quite a cost-effective energy storage option – but BaroMar says it can beat traditional systems over long-duration energy storage using an amusingly low-tech solution.
Basically, the company’s plants will be stationed near coastlines with access to deep water. And instead of large high-pressure tanks, BaroMar uses the pressure of the water column to store compressed air in much cheaper enclosures.
We’re talking a series of big, cheap, dumb, concrete and steel tanks with cages full of rocks on top of them, to keep them submerged at between 200-700-meter (650-2,300-ft) depths. These tanks have a number of water-permeable valves around them and start out completely full of seawater. The compressor and generator systems live
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?
- SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- SDG 13: Climate Action
2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?
- SDG 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
- SDG 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes.
- SDG 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning.
3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?
Yes, the article mentions the following indicators:
- Round-trip efficiency of around 70% for the compressed air energy storage system.
- Comparison of efficiency with traditional compressed air systems.
- Amount of energy stored (4 MWh in the underwater pilot).
Explanation:
The article discusses BaroMar’s innovative approach to compressed air energy storage (CAES) for long-duration energy storage. This technology addresses the need for stabilizing renewable grids over longer time scales, which is connected to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). The use of renewable energy sources and energy storage systems contributes to increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix (SDG 7.2).
BaroMar’s approach also relates to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) as it involves upgrading infrastructure and adopting clean and environmentally sound technologies for energy storage. Additionally, the article mentions the need to integrate climate change measures into national policies and planning (SDG 13.2), which aligns with the goal of achieving climate action.
The specific targets identified are increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix (SDG 7.2), upgrading infrastructure and retrofitting industries for sustainability (SDG 9.4), and integrating climate change measures into policies and planning (SDG 13.2).
The article mentions indicators such as the round-trip efficiency of the compressed air energy storage system, which is expected to be around 70%. This efficiency can be used to measure progress towards SDG 7.2. The comparison of efficiency with traditional compressed air systems provides a benchmark for assessing the technological advancements in energy storage systems (SDG 9.4). The amount of energy stored, specifically 4 MWh in the underwater pilot, can be used as an indicator to measure progress towards achieving long-duration energy storage goals.
Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy | Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix (7.2) | – Round-trip efficiency of compressed air energy storage system – Comparison of efficiency with traditional compressed air systems |
| SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure | Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes (9.4) | – Comparison of efficiency with traditional compressed air systems |
| SDG 13: Climate Action | Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning (13.2) | – Amount of energy stored (4 MWh in the underwater pilot) |
Copyright: Dive into this article, curated with care by SDG Investors Inc. Our advanced AI technology searches through vast amounts of data to spotlight how we are all moving forward with the Sustainable Development Goals. While we own the rights to this content, we invite you to share it to help spread knowledge and spark action on the SDGs.
Fuente: mitechnews.com
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