Cryogenic Energy Storage and Its Integration With Nuclear Power Generation for Load Shift

Abstract This chapter concerns mainly the integration of cryogenic energy storage (CES) with nuclear power plant (NPP) for load shift. It starts with an introduction to the CES technology including basic principle, development history, process diagram, performance evaluation, and applications. Data obtained during an operation of the world first CES pilot plant (350 kW/2.5 MWh) are presented to illustrate the potential use of the CES in electric power grids. This is followed by the comparison of the CES technology with two other major large-scale energy storage technologies, pumped hydro and compressed air energy storage, demonstrating clear advantages of the CES technology in terms of energy density, no geographic and geologic constraints, and flexibility. The integration of the CES technology with NPPs is then discussed. Such an integrated system could be operated in three modes of electric energy storage, electric energy release, and conventional operation, offering significant cost-effective load-shift capabilities and flexibility. Thermodynamic analyses suggest that the integrated system could deliver 2.7 times the NPP rated power and achieve a round-trip efficiency of the CES at ~ 71%.