Large scale energy storage/transmission and freight transportation system

One of the barrier to the use of renewable energy (solar and wind) is their intermittency. As more renewable sources of energy comes online, it become more difficult to balance between production and consumption. In Inner Mongolia, wind farm operators have to turn off ("abandon the wind") their turbines during winter nights because of the lack of demand during those times, having to discard 36 GWh of electricity every night. Storage will also reduce the necessity to have excess underutilized generation capacity to handle peak loads. Renewable sources of energy are usually located far away from where there are needed. The current peak/off peak prices of electricity is an artifact of the limitations of existing technology.

This concept is similar to a flywheel, but it solves its main weakness by eliminating the hub. This kinetic energy system stores energy in magnetically levitated slugs maintained at high speed inside a loop of evacuated tube. In the constant mass version, energy is injected by increasing the speed of the slugs and energy is extracted by decreasing the speed of the slugs, energy can be injected and extracted at any point in the tube. This version can also serve as a power transmission network. In the constant speed version, energy is injected by adding slugs and extracted by removing slugs at a central station. Both versions can also be used to transport freight that can withstand high G forces. The elimination of air drag and rolling resistance allows most of the energy spent during acceleration to be recovered when decelerating. Energy may actually be gained when going from high elevation to low elevation.

The capital cost $/kW/km is inversely proportional to the square root of the kW or kWh of energy storage required. This system is suitable for energy and power applications that requires more than 5 GWh of storage. This system have much bigger MW carrying capacity than overhead lines and cheaper than underground lines.

In conjunction with electrification of transport, this technology will allow most the energy requirements of transport, energy and heating to be sourced from renewables.

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ET3-ES Cost Benefit Risk

Benefits Large scale and high capacity Improve capacity and reliability of existing power generation. Lower cost even further by combining energy storage and transmission Not limited by geography. The slug momentum can overcome any gradient Low land use and impact on environment Encourage more use of superconductivity and expected cost reduction No external electromagnetic field Unaffected by sunspot activity

Risks, events or unintended consequences that have to be managed. Accidents, malfunctions and leaks Floods, earthquakes or cataclysmic events Earth movements, continental drift. Tubes have to monitored by SCADA and actively aligned with actuators Terrorism Redundancy is required, e.g. when the system is shutdown for maintenance at weekend. The spacing between supports must be random to prevent the build up of harmonics to dangerous levels. Daily expansion and contraction of tube. Effect of precession

Capital cost and operational performance of Evacuated Tube energy storage/transmission system

Calculates the cost and performance of the system given the Energy storage capacity required. Use Google Chrome if the graph does not appear.

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Parameters Iron ore transportation Energy storage and transmission Waste heat transportation Slug centripetal force Tube diameter m Slug length/diameter ratio Slug loading on magnet kg/m Slug spacing/length ratio

Comparison with other energy storage system ET3-ES Pumped Hydroelectric Compressed Air Lithium Ion Flywheel Efficiency % 80-82 68-75 90-98 90-95 Capital cost $m Wh/kg 0.5-1.5 30-60 75-200 10-30 Wh/liter 0.5-1.5 3-6 200-500 20-80 Energy Cost $/kWh 250-430 60-125 900-1700 7800-8800 Power Cost $/kW 1500-4300 1000-1250 1800-4100 1950-2200

Payback period Avoided cost of gas generation. US$/MWh Payback period years Liquid Nitrogen cost $m per year at $0.05/hour/slug. Each slug needs to be recharged regularly with liquid nitrogen

Costs Tube cost $m Slugs cost $m $ per kW per 1000km capital cost Tube magnet cost $m Slug YBCO superconductor cost $m MW capacity Tube Magnet cost US$/m at 111 kg/m loading Yttrium barium copper oxide bulk crystals cost US$/kg load Hours of storage Steel Price US$/ton * 2 (for support and construction cost) Currency / USD$ United States Dollar Australian Dollar Brazilian Real Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Chinese Yuan Euro British Pound Sterling Indian Rupee Japanese Yen Russian Ruble United Arab Emirates Dirham Afghan Afghani Albanian Lek Armenian Dram Netherlands Antillean Guilder Angolan Kwanza Argentine Peso Aruban Florin Azerbaijani Manat Bosnia-Herzegovina Convertible Mark Barbadian Dollar Bangladeshi Taka Bulgarian Lev Bahraini Dinar Burundian Franc Bermudan Dollar Brunei Dollar Bolivian Boliviano Bahamian Dollar Bhutanese Ngultrum Botswanan Pula Belarusian Ruble Belize Dollar Congolese Franc Chilean Unit of Account (UF) Chilean Peso Colombian Peso Costa Rican Col? Cuban Peso Cape Verdean Escudo Czech Republic Koruna Djiboutian Franc Danish Krone Dominican Peso Algerian Dinar Egyptian Pound Ethiopian Birr Fijian Dollar Falkland Islands Pound Georgian Lari Ghanaian Cedi Gibraltar Pound Gambian Dalasi Guinean Franc Guatemalan Quetzal Guyanaese Dollar Hong Kong Dollar Honduran Lempira Croatian Kuna Haitian Gourde Hungarian Forint Indonesian Rupiah Irish Pound Israeli New Sheqel Iraqi Dinar Iranian Rial Icelandic Kr?a Jamaican Dollar Jordanian Dinar Kenyan Shilling Kyrgystani Som Cambodian Riel Comorian Franc North Korean Won South Korean Won Kuwaiti Dinar Kazakhstani Tenge Laotian Kip Lebanese Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Liberian Dollar Lesotho Loti Lithuanian Litas Latvian Lats Libyan Dinar Moroccan Dirham Moldovan Leu Malagasy Ariary Macedonian Denar Myanma Kyat Mongolian Tugrik Macanese Pataca Mauritanian Ouguiya Mauritian Rupee Maldivian Rufiyaa Malawian Kwacha Mexican Peso Malaysian Ringgit Mozambican Metical Namibian Dollar Nigerian Naira Nicaraguan C?doba Norwegian Krone Nepalese Rupee New Zealand Dollar Omani Rial Panamanian Balboa Peruvian Nuevo Sol Papua New Guinean Kina Philippine Peso Pakistani Rupee Polish Zloty Paraguayan Guarani Qatari Rial Romanian Leu Serbian Dinar Rwandan Franc Saudi Riyal Solomon Islands Dollar Seychellois Rupee Sudanese Pound Swedish Krona Singapore Dollar Saint Helena Pound Sierra Leonean Leone Somali Shilling Surinamese Dollar São Tomé and Príncipe Dobra Salvadoran Col? Syrian Pound Swazi Lilangeni Thai Baht Tajikistani Somoni Turkmenistani Manat Tunisian Dinar Tongan Pa?anga Turkish Lira Trinidad and Tobago Dollar New Taiwan Dollar Tanzanian Shilling Ukrainian Hryvnia Ugandan Shilling Uruguayan Peso Uzbekistan Som Venezuelan Bol?ar Vietnamese Dong Vanuatu Vatu Samoan Tala CFA Franc BEAC East Caribbean Dollar Special Drawing Rights CFA Franc BCEAO CFP Franc Yemeni Rial South African Rand Zambian Kwacha Zimbabwean Dollar (1980-2008) Zimbabwean Dollar Linear Motor Cost US$/kW % energy loss during storage hours

Tube characteristics Tube thickness mm ton/km of a single tube Weight thousand ton Length km Radius km Air density Air pressure bar inside tube Depth beneath surface of water m Loop area km 2 Loop volume m 3 Temperature rise in tube oK Electromagnetic levitation kW/ton. Set to 0 for YBCO levitationMagnetic levitation

Slug characteristics Number of slugs Mass of each slug kg Pay load kg Speed of slug km/h Slug spacing m Kinetic energy kWh per slug Slug length m Slug diameter m Slug loop time Maximum acceleration. G force Acceleration distance km Slug acceleration time Air drag kW of all slugs Slug Loading on magnet kg/m Pressure Loading on tube kg/m Rolling resistance coefficient Rolling resistance/Electromagnetic levitation kW of all slugs Air drag coefficient Cd Centripetal force on slug. Too much centripetal force may cause the slug to loose cohesion to the track. A higher centripetal force will reduce the length of the tube, reduce the cost and increase the speed. Billion ton-km/year. Cargo that may be carried includes water heated by waste heat from concentrated solar thermal power stations, bulk commodities and sewerage. Height difference m Potential power MW Maximum capacity mt/year Capsule load/unload time in seconds % Capacity used Cargo mt/year US$/Airlock Airlocks Airlock capital cost $m Electricity cost US$/kWh % Interest rate Energy cost $m / year Overall electrical efficiency % cents/ton-km freight cost net ton km/MJ oC temperature increase to water MWt of waste thermal power from thermal plants that can be transported Number of days for slug to lose 50% of energy Thermal energy price US$/kWht Thermal energy revenue $m

Grids Australia electricity Australia energy China electricity China energy USA electricity USA energy World electricity World energyGWh/day%Storage required

Links

Evacuated Tube Transport

United States Patent No. 5,950,543 Evacuated Tube Transport

Prospects for Large-Scale Energy Storage in Decarbonised Power Grids

Energy efficient, environmental friendly, cost effective, convenient, safe and fast transportation system for passenger and freight traffic

The Role of Energy Storage in Helping Global Energy Problems Become Gone With The Wind

Electricity Energy Storage Technology Options

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Last updated: Thu, 16 Jun 2022 08:02:03 GMT