Demonstration of Sulfur Electric Thermal Storage for Industrial Electrification and Decarbonization
Sulfur thermal energy storage powered by renewable energy to electrification and decarbonization of industrial processes.
Element 16 Technologies, Inc
Recipient
Glendale, CA
Recipient Location
25th
Senate District
52nd
Assembly District
$377,066
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
The first technical task for this project is Task 2: Front-End Engineering. This has been the focus of 2024 and team will be wrapping this up by Q1 of 2025.
The Issue
Electrifying industrial process heat through leveraging advancements in low-carbon electricity from both grid and onsite renewable energy generation is critical for industrial decarbonization and end fossil-fuel dependency. However, energy supply from renewables such as solar is intermittent and only available during the day, while most industrial processing facilities such as chemicals, foods, plastics, materials, and cement operate 24 hours per day and require continuous energy supply.
Hence, integration of low-cost thermal energy storage (TES) is critical to make electrotechnology powered by low-carbon electricity dispatchable and affordable by storing energy during peak renewable generation or when grid electric prices are low and meet industrial process heat demand during night time operations.
Project Innovation
The purpose of this Agreement is to fund the technology development and demonstration of sulfur thermal energy storage integrated with electrotechnology powered by renewable energy such as solar PV or low-cost grid electricity, collectively referred to as sulfur electric thermal storage (SETS), with the goal of demonstrating flexible operation to support economically feasible electrification and decarbonization of industrial processes.
Project Benefits
This project will result in greater reliability and lower costs by reducing gas usage for industrial process heat. This reduces industrial businesses’ susceptibility to large variations in fuel prices by switching heat production away from fossil fuels. When paired with solar or low-cost grid electricity, this technology can also generate renewable process heat at a lower LCOH than natural gas, reducing both cost and Greenhouse (GHG) emissions.
Key Project Members
Hamarz Aryafar
Subrecipients
Searles Valley Minerals, Inc.
Match Partners
Element 16 Technologies, Inc
Searles Valley Minerals, Inc.
