With an increasing need for renewable energy, energy storage is key, but storing electricity can be both expensive and inefficient. The Swedish high-tech company Azelio converts stored thermal energy to electricity, which makes the process more efficient and cost-effective.
Azelio has a sustainable energy solution based on the Stirling engine. The company offers distributed and dispatchable renewable electricity and low-temperature heat, affordable and on-demand at all hours of the day. By an innovative storage design and a well-established power production technology, Azelio is a part of changing the future of renewable energy.
The solution
Azelio’s energy storage system is called the TES.POD and offers a thermal energy storage technology that can produce clean electricity and deliver low-temperature heat at any time of the day, in unreliable or off-grid locations or on-grid to create stability in supply and energy cost. The TES.POD is charged with electricity from renewable sources, such as solar PV or wind power and produces clean electricity and heat without any emissions. Azelio’s storage suffers no degradation in capacity over time and uses no rare-earth minerals. The supply chain consists of a European supplier base and the storage media is made of recycled aluminium from a Swedish supplier. Azelio’s storage technology produces around-the-clock clean power at a much lower cost than lithium-ion batteries and fossil alternatives, and with a significantly lower environmental impact, according to a recent LCA study conducted by RISE, Research Institutes of Sweden.
How it works
A Phase Change Material (PCM), a recycled aluminium alloy, is heated up to 600°C. During discharge, a heat transfer fluid (HTF) transfers the heat to the Stirling engine. Working gas is heated and cooled off by ambient air, running the Stirling engine. The stored energy can run the Stirling engine at nominal power for 13 hours or longer as the effect can be regulated based on demand.
The Thermal Energy Storage (TES) is in the centre of the solution. Since the greatest energy recovery is obtained in the conversion phase, Azelio has chosen an aluminium alloy for its very specific phase changing characteristics. Aluminium has excellent heating storage ability.
Moving forward
The TES.POD was awarded by Mission Innovation as one of the world’s most CO2 reducing technologies and has, in 2021, been chosen as one of 1000 solutions to tackle climate change by gaining the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label. The selection process involves both economic and environmental assessments from independent experts and is only eligible for products that have reached a high level of technical maturity.
Azelio has signed MOUs, summing up to 426 MW/5.4 GWh and is ready for its global commercial roll-out with the start of serial production by fall 2021. The TES.POD is currently deployed in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Commercial agreements have been signed in Dubai as well as in Sweden. The company is currently in an extensive expansion phase, finding new partners and establishing a presence all over the world.
Read more and contact Azelio here.
