(637c) Thermochemical Energy Storage Integration with Thermoelectric Power Generation

This paper will investigate the combination of thermochemical energy storage (TCES) with thermoelectric power generation for electricity production and storage in distributed settings. Thermoelectric generation (TEG) of electricity has been heavily studied as a potential method of utilizing solar or waste heat. For low peak power demands in distributed settings, TEGs have the advantage over conventional power generation cycles as they do not require moving parts, large capital investments, or long startup times. Already, thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are being marketed as accessories to camping or wood stoves to charge electronics without any moving parts. However, in many distributed settings, fuels are either unavailable, or in the case of biomass, may require enormous investments in time to gather. Thermal energy storage therefore becomes one possible method of providing the heat input to a TEG device. Although previously, sensible or latent energy storage methods have been coupled with TEG, the possibility of using thermochemical energy storage (TCES) has not been investigated. Although the overall energy efficiency of a TCES + TEG system is lower than a PV + battery storage system, it is expected that thermochemical energy storage offers much cheaper and scalable storage which, depending on the scale, could more than compensate for the cost of the TEG. Presented here is economic motivation for pursuing this unconventional and unlikely route to clean electricity and a preliminary experimental demonstration of a TCES+TEG concept.