Environmental performance of a multi-energy liquid air energy storage (LAES) system in cogeneration asset – A life cycle assessment-based comparison with lithium ion (Li-ion) battery

• Published in: Heliyon 2024-10, Vol.10 (20), p.e39193, Article e39193
• Main Authors: Tafone, Alessio, Borri, Emiliano, Cabeza, Luisa F., Romagnoli, Alessandro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: air; assets; carbon; Carnot battery; case studies; Cogeneration; cooling; District cooling; electric energy consumption; electric power; Electrical energy storage; electricity; environmental impact; environmental performance; Li-ion battery; life cycle assessment; Life cycle assessment (LCA); Liquid air energy storage (LAES); liquids; lithium; lithium batteries; manufacturing; oils; power generation; primary energy; Singapore; Thermal energy storage (TES)
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39193

Increase in energy demand is shaping both developed and developing countries globally. As a result, the endeavour to reduce carbon emissions also encompasses electrical energy storage systems to ensure environmentally friendly power production and distribution. Currently, the scientific community is actively exploring and developing new storage technologies for this purpose. The focus of this work is to compare the eco-friendliness of a relatively novel technology such as liquid air energy storage (LAES) with an established storage solution such as Li-Ion battery (Li-ion). The comparison is carried out through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology which aims to assess the environmental impacts from each life stage, according to different impact categories. In particular, the study refers to the unitary storage and the delivery of electricity as well as cooling energy, considering all the inefficiencies and limits of each technology. The results show that in the full electric case study Li-ion battery environmentally outperform LAES due to (1) the higher round trip efficiency and (2) the significantly high environmental impact of the diathermic oil utilized by LAES, accounting for 92 % of the manufacture and disposal phase. Conversely, the cogeneration case study highlights that the “flexibility” and “dualism” of LAES, capable to efficiently deliver both electricity and cooling, offset the impact related to the higher electricity consumption during the use phase. Notably in energy mix frameworks with high share of primary energy source from fossil fuels, cogenerative LAES demonstrates superior environmental performance compared to Li-ion battery (i.e. 1302 kgCO2eq/MWhe vs 1140 kgCO2eq/MWhe for Singapore energy mix), attributable to its reduced electricity consumption.