Ways to Reduce Costs in Molten Salt Energy Storage
1. Technological Innovations and Material Improvements
– Innovating in molten salt formulations and heat transfer fluids can improve temperature ranges and storage efficiency, reducing losses and materials costs. For example, Frenell has developed molten salt systems allowing a large temperature difference (~280 K), which enhances storage efficiency and lowers the cost per kWh thermal stored to between 15 and 25 EUR/kWh_th.
– Optimizing components such as tanks, pumps, and heat exchangers can also reduce upfront capital expenses and improve reliability, thereby lowering operational costs over time.
2. Scale and System Integration
– Larger-scale molten salt storage systems benefit from economies of scale, which reduce the per-unit capital costs. A 10 MW-scale system might reach a cost of approximately $0.135/kWh for thermal storage under favorable financial returns.
– Integrating molten salt storage directly with renewable energy plants (e.g., Concentrated Solar Power) or other heat sources reduces infrastructure redundancy and improves overall system economics.
3. Manufacturing and Standardization
– As molten salt energy storage technology matures and adoption grows, standardization in manufacturing could drive down costs through mass production and supply chain efficiencies.
– Turnkey solutions offered by companies such as Frenell provide optimized, integrated systems that can reduce engineering and installation costs.
4. Improving Operational Strategies
– Incorporating supplemental heating (e.g., fuel heaters) can enhance flexibility and reliability, maximizing system utilization and economic returns, which indirectly reduces the effective cost per unit of stored energy.
Cost Comparison and Potential
- Molten salt thermal storage is already significantly cheaper than lithium-ion batteries on a per kWh basis, being roughly 33 times less expensive for energy storage cost per kWh. This suggests that further cost reductions could make these systems highly competitive for long-duration energy storage.
- Targets have been discussed in the energy storage industry to reduce costs to around $0.05/kWh for long-duration storage, with molten salt systems potentially reaching near $0.027/kWh with further improvements.
In summary, reducing the high costs associated with molten salt energy storage depends on advancing the technology and system designs to improve efficiency and scale, increasing manufacturing volumes, and optimizing integration with renewable energy generation. These efforts will lower capital and operational expenses and realize the technology’s potential as a cost-effective solution for long-duration energy storage.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/how-can-the-high-costs-associated-with-molten-salt-energy-storage-systems-be-reduced/
