Advanced HYBRID solar plant with PCM storage solutions in sCO2 cycles

Solutions developed

HYBRIDplus:Advanced HYBRID solar plant with PCM storage solutions in sCO2 cycles. HYBRIDplus aims to pioneer the next generation of CSP with an advanced innovative high-density and high-temperature thermal energy storage (TES) system capable of providing a high degree of dispatchability at low cost and with much lower environmental burden than the State of the Art. This thermal storage is based in the Phase Change Material (PCM) technology in a cascade configuration that can reproduce the effect of a thermocline and integrates recycled metal wool in its nucleus that provide hybridization possibilities by acting as an electric heater transforming non-dispatchable renewable electricity such as PV into thermal stored energy ready to be dispatched when needed.

Main results

The EU-funded HYBRIDplus project will pioneer the next generation of concentrated solar power systems, providing greater energy storage capacity and increased dispatchability with lower environmental impacts. Utilising phase change material technology and integrating recycled metal wool, researchers will convert concentrated solar energy into stored thermal energy utilising a new high-temperature supercritical CO2 cycle, providing abundant energy ready for use. This ground-breaking approach will provide high volume, efficient and accessible energy without environmental drawbacks.