LIQHYSMES—A Novel Energy Storage Concept for Variable Renewable Energy Sources Using Hydrogen and SMES

A new energy storage concept is proposed that combines the use of liquid hydrogen (LH2) with Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES). The anticipated increase of the contribution of intermittent renewable power plants like wind or solar farms will substantially increase the need for balancing demands and supplies from seconds to several hours or even days. LH2 with its high volumetric energy density is the prime candidate for large scale stationary energy storage but balancing load or supply fluctuations with hydrogen alone is unrealistic due to the losses related to the re-conversion into electricity and also due to the response times of the flow control. To operate the hydrogen part more steadily some short-term electrical energy storage will be needed. Here a SMES based on High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) is proposed for this purpose which could be operated in the LH2 bath. With this approach the cryogenics-related costs for the SMES are widely cut. The concept is introduced. Simple simulations on the buffering behavior and comparisons of different plant types are presented.