Microgrid application of liquefied air energy storage (LAES) systems

Abstract

Abstract An energy and economic analysis on small-scale LAES (liquefied air energy storage) system is presented. The LAES operative parameters were analyzed via MATLAB simulations. The optimal case is given with a flowrate of 1000 kg/h and 4 turbine expansions, resulting in a net electric power output in the discharging process of 260 kW and the optimal values are 450 K for inlet temperature and 150 bar for the discharge pressure. For the charging process the specific consumption is significantly affected by the storage pressure. Also the round trip efficiency is influenced by the storage pressure: for a storage pressure of 8 bar, it is about 25% compared to the 12% in case of a storage pressure equal to 1.10 bar. The LCOS obtained is between 1.2 €/kWh and 1.8 €/kWh. This values are higher than other results in literature due to the scale of the system.