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

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$377,066

Amount Spent

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Active

Project Status

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Project Update

Detailed engineering of the system is complete. All major equipment has been purchased. Construction is expected to be complete in 2026.

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 Goals

Design, fabricate, install and integrate a SETS with 1.5 MWh capacity and discharge peak heat rate of at least 100 kW.

Demonstrate the functionality of SETS to supply process steam for operations at the industrial customer’s facility.

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.

Affordability

By storing low-cost electricity in the form of heat, facilities can reduce their operating costs. Lower capital costs due to use of cheaper energy storage media.