Comprehensive Review of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Technologies
In recent years, liquid air energy storage (LAES) has gained prominence as an alternative to existing large-scale electrical energy storage solutions such as compressed air (CAES) and pumped hydro energy storage (PHES), especially in the context of medium-to-long-term storage. LAES offers a high vol...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/17/6216 |
| _version_ | 1797582605738049536 |
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| author | Ayah Marwan Rabi Jovana Radulovic James M. Buick |
| author_facet | Ayah Marwan Rabi Jovana Radulovic James M. Buick |
| author_sort | Ayah Marwan Rabi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent years, liquid air energy storage (LAES) has gained prominence as an alternative to existing large-scale electrical energy storage solutions such as compressed air (CAES) and pumped hydro energy storage (PHES), especially in the context of medium-to-long-term storage. LAES offers a high volumetric energy density, surpassing the geographical constraints that hinder current mature energy storage technologies. The basic principle of LAES involves liquefying and storing air to be utilized later for electricity generation. Although the liquefaction of air has been studied for many years, the concept of using LAES “cryogenics” as an energy storage method was initially proposed in 1977 and has recently gained renewed attention. With the growing need for alternative energy storage methods, researchers have increasingly explored the potential of cryogenic media, leading to the development of the first LAES pilot plant and a growing body of research on LAES systems. However, one notable drawback of LAES is its relatively low round-trip efficiency, estimated to be around 50–60% for large-scale systems. However, due to its thermo-mechanical nature, LAES offers versatility and can be easily integrated with other thermal energy systems or energy sources across a wide range of applications. Most of the existing literature on LAES focuses on thermodynamic and economic analyses, examining various LAES configurations, and there is a clear lack of experimental studies in this field. This paper aims to conduct a comprehensive review of LAES technology, with a focus on the performance enhancement of these systems. Future perspectives indicate that hybrid LAES solutions, incorporating efficient waste energy recovery sections, hold the most promise for enhancing the tech-no-economic performance of standalone LAES systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:24:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-72d580e097c14081a3730f80533484b6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:24:43Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-72d580e097c14081a3730f80533484b62023-11-19T08:04:52ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732023-08-011617621610.3390/en16176216Comprehensive Review of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) TechnologiesAyah Marwan Rabi0Jovana Radulovic1James M. Buick2School of Mechanical and Design Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DJ, UKSchool of Mechanical and Design Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DJ, UKSchool of Mechanical and Design Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DJ, UKIn recent years, liquid air energy storage (LAES) has gained prominence as an alternative to existing large-scale electrical energy storage solutions such as compressed air (CAES) and pumped hydro energy storage (PHES), especially in the context of medium-to-long-term storage. LAES offers a high volumetric energy density, surpassing the geographical constraints that hinder current mature energy storage technologies. The basic principle of LAES involves liquefying and storing air to be utilized later for electricity generation. Although the liquefaction of air has been studied for many years, the concept of using LAES “cryogenics” as an energy storage method was initially proposed in 1977 and has recently gained renewed attention. With the growing need for alternative energy storage methods, researchers have increasingly explored the potential of cryogenic media, leading to the development of the first LAES pilot plant and a growing body of research on LAES systems. However, one notable drawback of LAES is its relatively low round-trip efficiency, estimated to be around 50–60% for large-scale systems. However, due to its thermo-mechanical nature, LAES offers versatility and can be easily integrated with other thermal energy systems or energy sources across a wide range of applications. Most of the existing literature on LAES focuses on thermodynamic and economic analyses, examining various LAES configurations, and there is a clear lack of experimental studies in this field. This paper aims to conduct a comprehensive review of LAES technology, with a focus on the performance enhancement of these systems. Future perspectives indicate that hybrid LAES solutions, incorporating efficient waste energy recovery sections, hold the most promise for enhancing the tech-no-economic performance of standalone LAES systems.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/17/6216LAESstandalone LAEShybrid LAESthermodynamicLAES performance |
| spellingShingle | Ayah Marwan Rabi Jovana Radulovic James M. Buick Comprehensive Review of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Technologies Energies LAES standalone LAES hybrid LAES thermodynamic LAES performance |
| title | Comprehensive Review of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Technologies |
| title_full | Comprehensive Review of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Technologies |
| title_fullStr | Comprehensive Review of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Technologies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comprehensive Review of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Technologies |
| title_short | Comprehensive Review of Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) Technologies |
| title_sort | comprehensive review of liquid air energy storage laes technologies |
| topic | LAES standalone LAES hybrid LAES thermodynamic LAES performance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/17/6216 |
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