Media.Player

Novel Phase Change Material and Methods of Use

Summary

A cost effective and efficient energy storage system based on thermal energy. The system closes the gap in operating temperatures, using novel Phase Change Materials to link an Organic Rankine Engine with renewable energy sources.

Technology Benefits

- Renewable energy storage using novel Phase Change Materials
- A system-storage linked Organic Rankine Engine and thermal energy sources
- Residential or modular for industry
- Cheap and efficient energy conversion

Technology Application

Energy storage
Renewable energy
Residential settings
Industry settings

Detailed Technology Description

Phase change materials for energy storage are well known for high temperature operations (>300°C) and ambient temperatures (-20 to 100°C), but have not been developed for the 100 - 250°C range. This temperature range has been recognised as critical for storage of solar thermal energy, waste or low grade heat from industry, or excess wind energy. The stored energy can be used to power an ORE to generate electricity on demand, along with hot water heating and space heating or cooling. Such an energy storage system can be implemented alongside a vacuum tube solar thermal collector as a stand-alone solar generator and storage system. In a complete modular system for remote areas, the system could be connected to a downsized diesel generator, where it could also utilise the waste heat from the diesel engine and provide supplementary peak power and back-up power to the system. Our combined system (Fig.1) using novel Phase Change Materials (PCMs) offers a cheaper, more reliable alternative to current options

Type of Cooperation

Licensing

Application Date

18/05/2017 00:00:00

Application No.

PCT/AU2017/000114

Others

The global thermal energy storage market has been valued at over US$0.6 bn and is expected to reach US$1.8 bn by 2020.
Monash seeks a partner to license and/or to carry out scale-up demonstration of the technology (50+ kW ORE for industry) and develop the large scale manufacture of the residential combined system.
The Monash research team is led by Prof Doug MacFarlane (Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow; ARC Centre for Electromaterials Science – Energy Program Leader). Prof MacFarlane and his team are experts in the development of new chemical entities for energy and other uses.

ID No.

2016-019

Country/Region

Australia