Power-to-heat integration in regenerator storage: Enhancing thermal storage capacity and performance

Electrically heated regenerator storage is an energy- and cost-efficient solution for converting excess electricity and storing it as high-temperature heat. We introduce a transient model to describe the thermodynamic behavior of this hybrid storage system with the fewest number of dimensionless parameters. These characteristic parameters are used to derive key performance indicators for the thermodynamic assessment of the power-to-heat integration in regenerator storage. The results obtained from simulation studies indicate the energy-efficient location of electric heating elements inside the storage tank and provide designs with significantly improved thermal storage capacity and performance. These benefits from power-to-heat extension are particularly evident in the increased cost efficiency and operational flexibility.

Automated summary

Electrically heated regenerator storage is an energy- and cost-efficient solution, which converts excess electricity into high-temperature heat and stores it. We introduced a transient model to describe the thermodynamic behavior of this hybrid storage system with a minimum number of dimensionless parameters. Simulation results showed that the optimal location of electric heating elements inside the storage tank improved thermal storage capacity and performance, leading to increased cost efficiency and operational flexibility.