Ultra-high temperature energy storage and conversion: A review of the AMADEUS project results

• Main Authors: Datas, Alejandro, López, Esther, Ramos, Alba, Nikolopoulos, Nikolaos, Nikolopoulos, Aristeidis, Zeneli, Myrto, Sobczak, Natalia, Polkowski, Wojciech, Tangstad, Merete, Safarian, Jafar, Trucchi, Daniele M., Bellucci, Alessandro, Girolami, Marco, Bestenlehner, Dominik, Lang, Stephan, Vitulano, Aniello, Sabbatella, Gianfranco, Cañizo, Carlos del, Cristobal, Ana Belén, Martí, Antonio
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Boron alloys; Converters; Energy conversion; Energy storage; Heat; High temperature; Latent heat; Phase change materials; Photovoltaic cells; Refractory materials; Silicon; Solid state devices; Thermal insulation; Thermophysical properties; Ultrahigh temperature; Wettability
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0028552

Starting in January 2017, AMADEUS (www.amadeus-project.eu) is the first project funded by the European Commission to research on a new generation of materials and solid-state devices for ultra-high temperature energy storage and conversion. By exploring storage temperatures well beyond 1000 °C, one of the main objectives of the project is to create new PCMs (phase change materials) with latent heat in the range of 1000-2000 kWh/m3, an order of magnitude greater than that of typical salt-based PCMs used in concentrated solar power (CSP), along with developing advanced thermal insulation, PCM casing designs, and novel solid-state thermal-to-electric energy conversion devices able to operate at temperatures in the range of 1000-2000 °C. In particular, the project is investigating silicon-boron based alloys as PCMs and hybrid thermionic-photovoltaic (TIPV) devices for energy conversion. This paper describes the main project R&D activities and the results that have been attained during the first two years of the project. This includes the thermophysical characterization of Si-B alloys, the wettability and solubility analysis of said alloys with solid refractory materials, the numerical simulation of phase-change and heat losses through thermal insulation cover, as well as the realization of the two main proof-of-concept experiments: the TIPV converter, and the full latent heat energy storage system.