Credit: mgathermal.com
Storing electricity, e.g. from renewables, is an ongoing headache with a recurring problem. If things go wrong ‘hazardous materials crews’ may be needed, along with a ‘bulk carbon dioxide tanker’ to cool things down – spot the irony. The company’s aim of ‘Making 24/7 renewables a reality’ is looking a tad optimistic.
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Firefighters have called in expert technicians to help deal with a dangerous heat build-up at a cutting-edge renewable energy storage plant but the incident has been stabilised, reports The New Daily.
MGA Thermal is behind a new form of thermal energy storage that allows retrofitted coal-fired power stations to distribute renewable energy long after it was produced.
But the company had to call in firefighters on Friday morning at its demonstrator plant in the Tomago industrial area, north of Newcastle.
Initial assessments of over-heating machinery led to the evacuation of 15 businesses.
Hazardous materials crews in breathing apparatus later detected smoke emanating from power cables on the 14m-long structure.
A bulk carbon dioxide tanker from Sydney cooled the machinery while dry chemical powder was used to douse the burning cables.
Specialist engineers called in
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman said the incident and factory was not something the crews had encountered previously and they expected it to be protracted.
“That’s why we have called in our scientific team too and we’re working with their engineers who are the experts in their field,” he told AAP.
The scene was deemed to be in a steady state about mid-afternoon and the emergency was scaled down. The exclusion zone had earlier been reduced, allowing most businesses and an arterial road for the Port Stephens area to reopen.
The new technology is built around a compound known as ‘mMiscibility gap alloy’ (MGA), which is manufactured in large brick-like blocks designed with two key materials.
Tiny metal alloy particles are dispersed through a matrix material. These particles melt as the blocks are heated and energy is absorbed, while the matrix material remains solid and keeps the molten particles in place.
The energy is stored in the solid-to-liquid phase change and is released as the blocks cool and the particles become solid again.
Keeping watch
A Fire and Rescue hazardous materials crew will remain at the scene for the next day or two to monitor the situation.
Developed by University of Newcastle scientists and backed by several government agencies, MGA Thermal’s blocks are about the size of two bread loaves and allow renewable energy to be transported and used on demand.
Full report here.
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On their website the company slogan says:
‘Enabling 24/7 clean energy in a world that is desperately looking for secure, stable, green energy.’
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At least the ‘desperate’ bit is right.
Wait a meenit – Farmers know ALL about that sort of thing: ‘fire risk at smoking green energy unit’ .. but NO – not at all. what has it got to do with being Green? Hi tech Energy storage … quite different. Theory into practice doesn’t always work. ( I was think around the Lightning strike on a gas tank t’other day )
Surely the best way of storing the energy is as coal or oil or gas – and burn as you need it, NOT burn and store something produced for later ?
Why did we have all those Cooling towers at power stations? Surely the water / coolant could have been used for Heating purposes – to grow crops or other hi-value products and then to heat homes? Use Intermittent “Eco” power to power heat pumps to upgrade that coolant even ….
Keep it Simple Surely. KISS to all!
It’s not gonna work at scale, in GWhs is it? No.