At COP27 McKinsey-LDES Council launches new report on thermal storage technologies: the made in Italy "sand batteries" MGTES, patented by Magaldi Green Energy, member of the LDES Council Board of Directors, are among the most effective solutions in the worldwide innovative energy storage systems
45% of energy production related emissions are due to heat generation, which is why thermal storage technologies (TES - Thermal Energy Storage), such as innovative sand fluidization-based storage patented by the Italian Magaldi Green Energy, assume an increasingly strategic role in the ecological transition.
This is certified by the new report "Net-Zero Heat: Long Duration Energy Storage to accelerate energy system decarbonization" presented Wednesday 9 November 2022 during COP27 - the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt. The report was prepared by McKinsey & Co. in partnership with the LDES- Long Duration Energy Storage Council. To download the full report here.
THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE, FROM 2 TO 8 TW BY 2040
The report shows that thermal storage technologies (TES) double the potential capacity of long duration energy storage (LDES) and can expand the total installed capacity of LDES from 2 to 8 TW by 2040 (compared to 1 to 3 TW without TES). The costs of LDES technologies are also expected to significantly drop with a 25-50% reduction for new LDES by 2040. Finally, the report highlights how LDES technologies can guarantee up to 540 billion per year of system-level savings for a zero-emission energy policy through 2-8 TW of installed capacity by 2040, supported by 1.7-3.6 trillion of dollar of total investment.
ENERGY-INTENSIVE INDUSTRIES, 70% OF ENERGY USED TO PRODUCE HEAT
Even today, 70% of the global energy demand of the industrial sector is heat, mostly in the form of steam to power the various industrial processes. Currently about 90% of this demand is met with fossil fuels. Long duration energy storage systems are essential to ensure continuity in the use of energy from renewable sources and to overcome the intermittency issue, due to climatic conditions (absence of sun and wind). These data confirms the need to use heat storage as part of an integrated energy system, including electrical and molecular storage, in order to accelerate the promotion of a decarbonised energy system.
"In the logic of business as usual, it has always been taken for granted - explains Letizia Magaldi, member of the Board of Directors of the LDES Council and Executive Vice President of Magaldi Green Energy - that the thermal energy necessary for industries could be generated by burning fossil fuels. Today we see that climate change and the energy costs and crisis that are affecting the production and industrial activity in Italy, for example, are the result of this dependence. To overcome this, it is necessary to focus more and more on energy autonomy through the use of renewables and resources widely available in the area. In addition to being sustainable for the environment and consumption, sand is also geopolitically neutral”.
“Systems such as our MGTES - continues Letizia Magaldi - represent a valuable ally to equip the industry with the so-called green heat, sustainable and clean thermal energy, necessary to meet energy needs 24 hours a day. It is essential to work on feasible and integrated solutions to achieve the decarbonisation and electrification of industrial processes with a view to sustainability and reduction of operational risks for the future”.
THE FIRST MGTES PILOT PLANT IN OPERATION IN SALERNO, ITALY
Today the "sand batteries" developed by the Magaldi Group are realized on an industrial scale at the Buccino Magaldi plant, in the province of Salerno. In Buccino, Magaldi Group develops MGTES technology (Magaldi Green Thermal Energy Storage), an accumulation system based on a fluidized sand bed (energy from the sand), powered exclusively by renewable energy. The MGTES plant, built at the Magaldi headquarters in Buccino, in the province of Salerno, is replicable and suitable for commercial and industrial uses. MGTES generates heat at high temperatures, starting from 150-400 degrees, necessary for energy-intensive industries (paper, food & beverage, chemicals, plastics, etc.).
MGTES - FIRST WORLDWIDE PATENT FOR THE MADE IN ITALY SAND BATTERIES
The system can be charged with excess electrical and thermal energy, managing to store it for an interval ranging from 4 to over 10 hours (Long Duration Energy Storage) up to weeks with very limited losses and then discharging it when the sun and wind are not available. In this way, the system allows renewable energy to be stored when it is in surplus and to release green thermal energy for industrial consumption, balancing the imbalance between supply and demand and helping to stabilize the grid. The sand fluidization system has significant advantages: large thermal energy storage capacity (up to the order of GWh); high thermal efficiency; fast response times; no environmental impact, thanks to the use of natural materials. Each MGTES module can store 50 thermal Mw. The fluidized sand bed technology is covered by European and world patents. The Magaldi team in collaboration with the electrical and energy engineering department of the La Sapienza University has published two scientific papers on this technology and has recently signed a collaboration agreement with RINA, a multinational inspection, certification and engineering consultancy, for further research projects and industrial application.
MAGALDI GREEN ENERGY
Founded in 2021, Magaldi Green Energy (MGE) is a start-up of Magaldi Power, the world's top player in systems for the materials transport at very high temperatures. MGE is oriented towards the research, development, production and marketing of innovative technologies in the renewable energy generation and storage sector.
MGE is led by Mario Magaldi (Chairman & CEO), Letizia Magaldi (Executive Vice President - Corporate Development & Global Marketing), Massimiliano Masi (Global Bd & Middle East General Manager), Raffaello Magaldi (Executive Vice President - Commercial & Technical operations).
LDES COUNCIL
The LDES Council is an international nonprofit organization, which includes technology and equipment suppliers, renewable energy companies, utilities, grid operators, investors and end-consumers, who together strive to accelerate decarbonisation and the uptake of sustainable energy policies at the lowest possible cost for companies, favoring the innovation, marketing and diffusion of long duration energy storage technologies. LDES Council provides data-driven guidance and verifiable information and research to governments, industry and society, drawing on the experience and expertise of its members, which include leading energy companies, technology providers, investors and users. To find out more.
