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Energy storage is beginning to move from a ‘nice-to- have’ to an essential requirement in communities across the globe. 1414 Degrees wants to ensure this is economically available and environmentally sound, delivering energy for all, at all times.

Consumers around the world are seeking low cost, reliable electricity from renewable sources. 1414 Degrees, along with its key investors, is committed to developing groundbreaking solutions to local, national and global energy issues.

We offer a grid-scale electricity storage solution developed in South Australia. Our thermal storage technology utilises molten silicon (silicon melts at 1414 degrees Celsius) to solve the intermittency of renewable generation and provide spinning inertial support for the grid.

Our technology takes electricity from any source – the grid or renewables – and stores it as latent heat (energy to make a phase change, in this case molten silicon). Once stored by our system, the energy is then dispatched on demand as both electricity and heat.

Silicon is more efficient because it has a very high melting point and can hold much more energy than other phase change materials, such as molten salt which has a latent phase at approximately 220 degrees Celsius.

The advantage of silicon is that it can be cycled endlessly at its melting point, storing and releasing 500KWh/tonne without the temperature changing, and with very low loss through insulation. This makes it a very compact and efficient store for energy, compared to all other means.

Our devices can work in all climates, from desert to snow to the tropics, storing energy from any source.

The 1414 Degrees TESS can be charged at high rates when load changes quickly, such as when transmission lines fail. The device – located anywhere in the grid – can supply the grid with the same spinning load and frequency support as gas-fired plants or coal generators when it regenerates power in its turbines. The TESS can provide peak shifting by storing renewable generation at times of low demand and releasing at periods of high demand.

Energy storage is beginning to move from a ‘nice-to- have’ to an essential requirement in communities across the globe. 1414 Degrees wants to ensure this is economically available and environmentally sound, delivering energy for all, at all times.

Consumers around the world are seeking low cost, reliable electricity from renewable sources. 1414 Degrees, along with its key investors, is committed to developing groundbreaking solutions to local, national and global energy issues.

We offer a grid-scale electricity storage solution developed in South Australia. Our thermal storage technology utilises molten silicon (silicon melts at 1414 degrees Celsius) to solve the intermittency of renewable generation and provide spinning inertial support for the grid.

Our technology takes electricity from any source – the grid or renewables – and stores it as latent heat (energy to make a phase change, in this case molten silicon). Once stored by our system, the energy is then dispatched on demand as both electricity and heat.

Silicon is more efficient because it has a very high melting point and can hold much more energy than other phase change materials, such as molten salt which has a latent phase at approximately 220 degrees Celsius.

The advantage of silicon is that it can be cycled endlessly at its melting point, storing and releasing 500KWh/tonne without the temperature changing, and with very low loss through insulation. This makes it a very compact and efficient store for energy, compared to all other means.

Our devices can work in all climates, from desert to snow to the tropics, storing energy from any source.

The 1414 Degrees TESS can be charged at high rates when load changes quickly, such as when transmission lines fail. The device – located anywhere in the grid – can supply the grid with the same spinning load and frequency support as gas-fired plants or coal generators when it regenerates power in its turbines. The TESS can provide peak shifting by storing renewable generation at times of low demand and releasing at periods of high demand.

Our Thermal Energy Storage System (TESS) is measured on Combined Heat and Power (CHP) efficiency. The prototype has achieved an electrical efficiency of 31 per cent of the energy recovery device and more than 80 per cent CHP efficiency.

The electrical efficiency of the industrial TESS-IND modules will be dependent upon the application, with units capable of 15-40 per cent, depending on the thermal energy requirements. Energy usage in industrial sites reportedly averages 33 per cent electrical and 66 per cent heat in the form of steam or water, but many process industries require up to 95 per cent of their energy as heat.

The TESS-GRID devices will aim for the 57 per cent electrical efficiency of advanced power stations, but will be co-located (where possible) with heat consumers, such as greenhouse food producers or process industries, for CHP efficiencies of up to 80 per cent.

By way of further example, pumped hydro has electrical efficiency of 70-80 per cent, and electrochemical flow batteries provide 60-80 per cent electrical efficiency.

Our Thermal Energy Storage System (TESS) is easily and economically scalable to any size. Its footprint is small compared to similar scale storage devices, and the cost is much less than batteries.

The 1414 Degrees technology does not compete with lithium batteries, for example, because they are lightweight and suited to mobile applications such as phones and cars. Batteries are useful for short term, fast responses to maintain frequency in electrical networks. However, our solution would suit a vehicular charging station or provide a better solution at district or grid scale.

As a clean, scalable energy storage device, it could make battery storage at the household level unnecessary and even uneconomic, because it would make grid supply more reliable and less costly.

The 10MWh and 200MWh TESS modules can be connected to fill the range from 6MWh to 2+GWh.

We are currently building a 6MWh module and will build a test cell of our 200MWh device later this year. The 6MWh system will be the approximate size of a 40ft shipping container. A 200MWh module will be configured with adaptive technology to maximise economies of scale and increase efficiencies. It will simply be a matter of adding these modules together to scale up to any requirement, with our expectation that a 1GWh site will be developed in the near future.

While the technology is sophisticated, its simplicity of deployment and scaling will underpin its success.

Our TESS is a cost effective solution in the sparsely occupied niche market of large scale storage solutions (i.e. between 6MWh and +1GWh). It is differentiated from pumped hydro and solar thermal by having minimal site specific requirements, and is a compact solution for cost effective integration in almost any location.

The TESS can be placed near consumers or generators, minimising the additional costs of kilometres of high voltage lines and their commensurate transmission costs, and can be positioned adjacent to a district heating network. This reduces the cost of connecting expensive and disruptive infrastructure.

As storage technologies are deployed exponentially across the coming few years, we need to be mindful of the environmental consequences. 1414 Degrees’ devices can be positioned virtually anywhere and our system is environmentally benign. Unlike chemical storage, our thermal storage uses abundantly available silicon that can be reused.

From an environmental perspective, decommissioning of a TESS will be achieved with minimal negative impact. Waste produced is solidified silicon that can easily be disposed of or recycled. It does not need to be treated or specially contained, and has no damaging chemical impact if it needs to be discarded at the end of its useful life.

The key sustainable benefits of the TESS are:

• It has a long life cycle;
• It is built with abundant materials (silicon, graphite, steel etc); and
• It is simple to decommission in a way that is environmentally benign.

Our system is built to last at least 20-30 years and works at its optimal capacity when constantly active. It enables renewable generation to provide the equivalent benefits of traditional synchronous base load generation, plus grid stability through fast frequency response within .250 milliseconds, and spinning inertia.

The technology will maintain its efficiency and capacity throughout its life (at least 20-30 years), compared with batteries, which have a much shorter life span due to the fact that their capacity diminishes with use.

The TESS has been developed for a range of applications before, between and after the meter on electrical networks. It can store energy from renewables directly or from the grid to stabilise supply and decrease costs.

The GAS-TESS can charge directly from burning gas, and was developed to provide more efficient energy recovery from biogas generated in waste processing. It stores the energy from the gas until needed as electricity or heat to speed up waste digestion. The very high temperature of combustion in the GAS-TESS completely destroys any toxic chemicals from the waste.

The heat output of our technology is ideally suited to applications such a district heating, wastewater treatment, desalination, greenhouses and industries that use large quantities of high temperature heat, such as food processing and production.

Cold climate cities and towns throughout the world use substantial amounts of energy to heat housing and buildings through district heating programs, and these would also be applicable to the 1414 Degrees technology. Currently, district heating around the world is sourced either from the grid or by burning gas, but a TESS could store renewable energy at times of low demand (and low prices) and supply both heat and electricity at a lower cost.

There is an immediate need for innovative energy storage technology in Australia, as it faces a significant shift in energy policies addressing both price and stability.

While we plan to continue our research and development in South Australia, and deploy our first systems in this country, market analysis shows that demand for the 1414 Degrees technology will likely be greatest in overseas markets. The global requirement for clean heat energy is greater than electrical energy.

1414 Degrees successfully tested its prototype in September 2016, and we will shortly commence our first commercial installations – including a pilot installation at SA Water’s Glenelg Wastewater Treatment Plant.

SA Water currently uses biogas, produced by its wastewater treatment processing, to generate electricity to power its operations. Our technology will instead safely burn the biogas and store the thermal energy, so the heat and electricity can be harnessed to better coincide with SA Water’s operational needs and times of high electricity market prices.

The market for this technology is vast and growing – in 2016, bio-power gas capacity was 112GW, producing 504 Terawatt-hours (504,000,000MWh). This energy is not stored to maximise its value, so 1414 Degrees will be at the forefront to capitalise on this.

In many global energy markets, including Australia, market forces and policies do not encourage energy storage. Key stakeholders may have a vested interest in seeing electricity and gas prices remaining high. The 1414 Degrees system will place downward pressure on electricity prices and displace gas for many industrial users.

Our thermal energy technology will also disrupt the grid scale energy storage industry, as the solution offers dual outcomes with both heat and electricity – at a much lower cost than other options – with minimal maintenance at any location across a 20-30 year lifespan.

**Additional information about 1414 Degrees, its technology and market – as well as technical information – can be found here https://1414degrees.com.au/answers/