Azelio’s Thermal Battery for Combined Heat and Power : A Thermo-economic and Market Research Study

Abstract: The objective of this thesis was to assess the market opportunities for two novel Carnot battery system solutions, one supplying power and low temperature heat as well as a system supplying medium temperature heat exclusively. To fulfill the objective, a methodology was developed and implemented to investigate the market potential, further two techno-economic models were developed and utilized to investigate the performance of such Carnot battery solutions. Based on the market review four industrial sectors were identified as most interesting and the geographical scope was confined to Europe. Further, case studies were developed to mimic two different sizes of manufacturing plants, a small and large, for the identified sectors. The cases were then implemented to the techno-economic analysis to compare the performance of a new Carnot battery system against the conventional energy solutions. The identified market offers a vast opportunity for incorporating Carnot battery solutions to meet the industrial sectors requirements, both from a technical and market size perspective. The market review combined with the techno-economic analysis indicates that the heat market is interesting as long as fuel, power grid costs and industrial operations are at the ideal level. For the Carnot battery system supplying both power and heat, it was found that yearly cost savings in the range of 10-15 % could be achieved for the identified market. The added value of incorporating heat generation and surplus power from PV had a strong effect on the business case. Through sensitivity analysis it was approximated that locations in central/south Europe with global horizontal irradiance (GHI) above 1500 kWh/m2 would benefit from the solution. For the Carnot battery system supplying medium temperature heat it was found that solutions would struggle with feasibility for the given market conditions. Through sensitivity it was found that locations with GHI higher than 2100 kWh/m2 would benefit from the solution. For both models it was found that the hybrid solution, Carnot battery combined with on-site PV, yields the most feasible solution for the end user, compared to charging the Carnot storage system from the power grid. Both models were sensitives to changes in energy cost for operating the old conventional system as well as operations times of the industries. The availability of space is a major constraint to implement Carnot battery solutions, as both the Carnot battery as well as PV plant require substantial space. It was found through literature and interviews that industries with close proximity to end customer and which faces pressure to decarbonize, may be most interesting to target, as for e.g. the Food and beverage sector.