Nearly half of global final energy consumption is used for heating and cooling applications, including industrial processes. This offers a huge opportunity to tap renewable energy for heating and cooling households and industries. Similarly, there is a need to leverage energy storage technologies beyond just batteries for electric vehicles. Presenters in this session examined various applications for high-efficiency and renewable-based heating, cooling and storage and highlighted recent technology and market developments.
Moderator: Kapila Perera, Vice Chancellor, University of Moratuwa
Scene Setter Talk:
Global Energy Transformation and the Crucial Role of Renewable Heating, Cooling, and Storage
Nicholas Wagner, Programme Officer, IRENA
The global energy transformation requires a holistic energy system transition not just for electricity supply, but also a deep and fundamental change to how heat and cooling energy services are provided - all within the larger context of balancing energy supply and demand. This scene setting presentation drew on the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) recent Global Energy Transformation report and detail a view on how this transition can be scaled up quickly and affordably. It highlighted how the transition can be driven by an important synergy between increasingly affordable renewable power technologies and the wider adoption of electric technologies for end-use applications and it also touched on some of the key topics around balancing energy supply, which will increasing come from variable sources such as solar and wind, and end-user demand.
Presenters:
Powering Existing Thermal Power Plants with Renewable Energy
Hans-Henning Judek, CEO, J.E. Access Ltd.
This presentation used the mothballed Bataan nuclear power plant as an example to illustrate that it is possible to operate the turbines of these plants with renewable energy, when thermal batteries act as an intermediate storage.
Second Life Battery - Repurposing Retired Industrial and Passenger EV Batteries for Rural Communities
Chih-Ting Lo, President, EELO Solutions Inc.
Batteries are the most expensive component of an electric vehicle (EV). Giving retired EV batteries a “second life” in rural communities with distributed mini grids to store renewable power or to displace diesel in diesel-renewable hybrid systems is an innovative approach to provide clean power, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower the cost for all parties. This presentation demonstrated the opportunity, discuss the main challenges and barriers, and outline technical and business solutions that can piloted and scaled up.
Renewstable®: Clean, Firm and Stable power
Mathieu Geze, Head of Asia Business Development, HDF Energy
Intermittent power can have difficulties integrating into small- to medium-sized grids, such as those in grid islands in South-East Asia. This presentation provided an overview of Renewstable® power plants that facilitate the integration of renewable energy on small to medium sized grids. It also highlighted a case study in French Guïana, in which HDF Energy will deliver to the grid a stable power supply, 24/7, with a 140 MWh storage capacity.
De-risking Geothermal Production Well Drilling through Cutting-Edge Science
Dr. Peter Leary, GeoFlowImaging
This presentation highlighted a solution, using science-based imaging of geothermal flow systems to reduce or eliminate the high sunk-cost of geothermal well drilling decision-making. It also provided an overview of a pilot project planned for an operating geothermal field in Indonesia that shows how deployment of this technology will help geothermal developers identify with a high-level of accuracy “where to drill”, greatly reducing the risk, uncertainty and cost of geothermal exploration.
Innovative Wind System with Compressed Air Storage
Charles Madson, President, AALTAMERICA/AALTAFIL INC.
This presentation provided an overview of the Madson Wind System (MWS) and MWS Air-Steel Battery, which uses wind energy and high-pressure, compressed air energy storage. The system has been evaluated by departments and colleges, and the comany has collaboration agreements with the College of Engineering of the University of Arizona and the University of Makati.