If every household has an “all-in-one” machine for power generation, storage, air conditioning, heating and hydrogen fuel charging, it can save a lot of energy costs for the home, and even achieve 100% self-sufficiency in electricity, and this dream It is not out of reach. At present, manufacturers have developed Dacheng technology, and it is expected to start selling the home system after 18 months.
The University of Newcastle (UoN) and the Australian company Infratech Industries are committed to research and development of Dacheng Energy Equipment and call it the Chemical Looping Energy-on-Demand System (CLES), which was implemented in April 2017. Published in the world, designed for hospitals, retirement communities or commercial buildings of similar size, not only to provide electricity, but also for heating and cooling, to produce oxygen and hydrogen, can be said to be a combination of generator and battery.
The system is driven by a special mixed crystal redox reaction. When the crystal undergoes a chemical reaction, it generates heat and generates vapor. The vapor drives the generator, and when the crystal undergoes a reduction reaction, the collected oxygen is released. Behdad Moghtaderi, professor and concept founder at Newcastle University, said that crystal reduction is an endothermic reaction, and oxidation excretes heat, and machines can drive this cycle through natural gas, electricity, and renewable energy.
The system core crystal is protected by intellectual property rights, but the team said that the material price is very reasonable, only $112 per metric ton, each time is very small and long-lasting, when the crystal will be placed in the replacement cartridge, a box It can be used for 6 months to 2 years.
In addition to providing electricity and oxygen, the heat generated by CLES can also heat the building, provide hot water or use it for refrigeration, or adjust the process to produce hydrogen, which can be refueled for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the future.
Cost is 45% for Tesla system
CLES has two modes of operation, which can be used as a large battery, using the grid and renewable energy to prevent the building from being affected by power outages. Unlike ordinary household energy storage systems, he can provide electricity, oxygen, and hot water at the same time. Heating and cooling, like the Swiss knife in the field of energy storage systems, can be used in one machine.
The second mode is “Energy on Demand”. The system will continue to use natural gas to make redox stable operation. The current conversion efficiency of CLES natural gas-electric power is about 45%, which will not interrupt the construction power and other functions, and can also reduce the system pair. The grid is dependent and reduces the carbon emissions by a third.
In addition to saving electricity bills, CLES can also sell excess oxygen or hydrogen, but the researchers also pointed out that the oxygen market and related infrastructure have not yet been developed, but according to the research blueprint, if the machine can produce a lot of oxygen, the manufacturer will manufacture An oxygen cylinder and collects oxygen from house to house for hospitals and retirement communities.
In order to test the performance of the CLES system, the team has produced equipment prototypes at the Newcastle plant in Australia. The maximum power generation is 30KW, and the daily power generation capacity can reach 720KWh, which can supply 30 to 40 households with daily electricity consumption. Currently, the team hopes to Put CLES equipment in individual families
Moghtaderi said that the team is developing a miniaturized version, trying to shrink the reactor, each device, and all of them in a small refrigerator-sized machine, which is expected to be launched in 18 months, while the performance of home CLES will outperform Tes. Pulling, the cost is also 75% of Tesla's household energy storage system, and can recover costs within one and a half years. Powerwall currently costs $6,000, and home CLES is estimated to cost $4,500.
