Large-scale deployment of intermittent renewable energy (namely wind energy and solar PV) may entail new challenges in power systems and more volatility in power prices in liberalized electricity markets. Energy storage can diminish this imbalance, relieving the grid congestion, and promoting distributed generation. The economic implications of grid-scale electrical energy storage technologies are however obscure for the experts, power grid operators, regulators, and power producers. A meticulous techno-economic or cost-benefit analysis of electricity storage systems requires consistent, updated cost data and a holistic cost analysis framework. To this end, this study critically examines the existing literature in the analysis of life cycle costs of utility-scale electricity storage systems, providing an updated database for the cost elements (capital costs, operational and maintenance costs, and replacement costs). Moreover, life cycle costs and levelized cost of electricity delivered by electrical energy storage is analyzed, employing Monte Carlo method to consider uncertainties. The examined energy storage technologies include pumped hydropower storage, compressed air energy storage (CAES), flywheel, electrochemical batteries (e.g. lead–acid, NaS, Li-ion, and Ni–Cd), flow batteries (e.g. vanadium-redox), superconducting magnetic energy storage, supercapacitors, and hydrogen energy storage (power to gas technologies). The results illustrate the economy of different storage systems for three main applications: bulk energy storage, T&D support services, and frequency regulation.

Electrical energy storage systems: A comparative life cycle cost analysis

Numerical modeling of superconductors is widely recognized as a powerful tool for interpreting experimental results, understanding physical mechanisms, and predicting the performance of high-temperature-superconductor (HTS) tapes, wires, and devices. This is particularly true for ac loss calculation since a sufficiently low ac loss value is imperative to make these materials attractive for commercialization. In recent years, a large variety of numerical models, which are based on different techniques and implementations, has been proposed by researchers around the world, with the purpose of being able to estimate ac losses in HTSs quickly and accurately. This paper presents a literature review of the methods for computing ac losses in HTS tapes, wires, and devices. Technical superconductors have a relatively complex geometry (filaments, which might be twisted or transposed, or layers) and consist of different materials. As a result, different loss contributions exist. In this paper, we describe the ways of computing such loss contributions, which include hysteresis losses, eddy-current losses, coupling losses, and losses in ferromagnetic materials. We also provide an estimation of the losses occurring in a variety of power applications.

Computation of Losses in HTS Under the Action of Varying Magnetic Fields and Currents

Review and perspectives on the use of magnetic nanophotocatalysts (MNPCs) in water treatment.

The theoretical and experimental results concerning the thermodynamical and low-frequency transport properties of hybrid structures, consisting of spatially separated conventional low-temperature superconductors (S) and ferromagnets (F), are reviewed. Since the superconducting and ferromagnetic parts are assumed to be electrically insulated, no proximity effect is present and thus the interaction between both subsystems is through their respective magnetic stray fields. Depending on the temperature range and the value of the external field Hext, different behavior of such S/F hybrids is anticipated. Rather close to the superconducting phase transition line, when the superconducting state is only weakly developed, the magnetization of the ferromagnet is solely determined by the magnetic history of the system and it is not influenced by the field generated by the supercurrents. In contrast to that, the nonuniform magnetic field pattern, induced by the ferromagnet, strongly affects the nucleation of superconductivity, leading to an exotic dependence of the critical temperature Tc on Hext. Deeper in the superconducting state the effect of the screening currents cannot be neglected anymore. In this region of the phase diagram T–Hext various aspects of the interaction between vortices and magnetic inhomogeneities are discussed. In the last section we briefly summarize the physics of S/F hybrids when the magnetization of the ferromagnet is no longer fixed but can change under the influence of the superconducting currents. As a consequence, the superconductor and ferromagnet become truly coupled and the equilibrium configuration of this 'soft' S/F hybrid requires rearrangements of both superconducting and ferromagnetic characteristics, as compared with 'hard' S/F structures.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0953-2048/22/5/053001/pdf

Nucleation of superconductivity and vortex matter in superconductor–ferromagnet hybrids

This paper presents a topical review of the current state of the art in modelling the magnetization of bulk superconductors, including both (RE)BCO (where RE?=?rare earth or Y) and MgB2 materials. Such modelling is a powerful tool to understand the physical mechanisms of their magnetization, to assist in interpretation of experimental results, and to predict the performance of practical bulk superconductor-based devices, which is particularly important as many superconducting applications head towards the commercialization stage of their development in the coming years. In addition to the analytical and numerical techniques currently used by researchers for modelling such materials, the commonly used practical techniques to magnetize bulk superconductors are summarized with a particular focus on pulsed field magnetization (PFM), which is promising as a compact, mobile and relatively inexpensive magnetizing technique. A number of numerical models developed to analyse the issues related to PFM and optimise the technique are described in detail, including understanding the dynamics of the magnetic flux penetration and the influence of material inhomogeneities, thermal properties, pulse duration, magnitude and shape, and the shape of the magnetization coil(s). The effect of externally applied magnetic fields in different configurations on the attenuation of the trapped field is also discussed. A number of novel and hybrid bulk superconductor structures are described, including improved thermal conductivity structures and ferromagnet?superconductor structures, which have been designed to overcome some of the issues related to bulk superconductors and their magnetization and enhance the intrinsic properties of bulk superconductors acting as trapped field magnets. Finally, the use of hollow bulk cylinders/tubes for shielding is analysed.

/pdf/modelling-of-bulk-superconductor-magnetization-iet0fuf1ew.pdf

Modelling of bulk superconductor magnetization

The engineering current density in YBCO coated conductor applications can be improved in two ways. Either the critical current density should be improved or the superconducting films made thicker. Unfortunately, it has often been observed that the average critical current density decreases when the thickness of films increases. Suggested reasons for this behaviour include e.g. two dimensional pinning properties, microcracks and imperfect crystallographic alignment. However, it is often forgotten that the self-field effect unavoidably reduces the critical current density when the thickness of YBCO films increases and thereby total current rises. In this paper, the influence of self-field on the average critical current density is studied computationally as a function of film thickness. The situation is also scrutinized at different external magnetic fields in order to find ways to distinguish self-field effects from problems related to the manufacturing process. For this purpose, critical current measurements in external field perpendicular to the film surface are proposed.

Self-field reduces critical current density in thick YBCO layers

In this paper, an optimization method to determine the magnetic field dependence of the intrinsic critical current density, Jc(B), is introduced. First of all the critical current is measured in various external magnetic fields. Then the Jc(B)-dependence that fits optimally to the measurements is searched for. In these computations the self-field of the sample is taken into account and thereby measurements performed in low external magnetic fields, below 0.1 T, can be exploited. Here the Jc(B)-dependence of YBCO material is described by the Kim model, which is modified to include the anisotropy also. Thus, there are four parameters to search for: zero field critical current density Jc0, reference field B0, Kim model exponent α and anisotropy scaling factor γ. The search for these parameters was computationally challenging but computation times were still satisfactory. As examples, the Jc(B)-dependences of two YBCO samples from different manufacturers were found. For both samples, all parameters except B0 were near each other. For example, Jc0 values for both samples were about 0.9 × 1010 A m−2.

How to determine critical current density in YBCO tapes from voltage–current measurements at low magnetic fields

We propose that in an HTS application, stability is lost more likely because of a global increase in temperature caused by heat generation distributed over the whole coil than because of a local normal zone which starts to propagate. For consideration of stability in HTS magnets, we present a computational model based on the heat conduction equation coupled with Maxwell's equations, whereby analysis can be performed by using commercial software packages for computational electromagnetics and thermodynamics. For temperature distribution inside the magnet, we derive the magnetic field dependent effective values of thermal conductivity, specific heat, and heat generated by electromagnetic phenomena for the composite structure of the magnet, while cooling conditions and external heat sources are described as boundary conditions. Our model enables the magnet designer to estimate a safe level of the operation current before a thermal runaway. Finally, as examples, we present some calculations of the HTS magnet with ac to review the effects of slanted electric field-current density E (J ) characteristics and high critical temperature of HTS materials.

Jorma Lehtonen

Papers

Self-field reduces critical current density in thick YBCO layers

How to determine critical current density in YBCO tapes from voltage–current measurements at low magnetic fields

A numerical model for stability considerations in HTS magnets

Environmental advantages of superconducting devices in distributed electricity-generation

Effective thermal conductivity in HTS coils