Conceptual design of ammonia‐based energy storage system: System design and time‐invariant performance

Chemicals‐based energy storage is promising for integrating intermittent renewables on the utility scale. High round‐trip efficiency, low cost, and considerable flexibility are desirable. To this end, an ammonia‐based energy storage system is proposed. It utilizes a pressurized reversible solid‐oxide fuel cell for power conversion, coupled with external ammonia synthesis and decomposition processes and a steam power cycle. A coupled refrigeration cycle is utilized to recycle nitrogen completely. Pure oxygen, produced as a side‐product in electrochemical water splitting, is used to drive the fuel cell. A first‐principle process model extended by detailed cost calculation is used for process optimization. In this work, the performance of a 100 MW system under time‐invariant operation is studied. The system can achieve a round‐trip efficiency as high as 72%. The lowest levelized cost of delivered energy is obtained at 0.24 $/kWh, which is comparable to that of pumped hydro and compressed air energy storage systems. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 1620–1637, 2017