Germany has opened a world-first electrothermal energy facility which can store power using volcanic rocks and is said to be a solution to slowing down climate change.
The facility was opened in the port of Hamburg, Germany’s largest sea harbour in the city of the same name in the north of the country.
Named the ‘Vulcan Project’, German engineers from Siemens Gamesa developed the 29-million-EUR (25.7-million-GBP) electrothermal energy storage facility which according to local media is a world first.
It solves the problem of what to do with excess energy, which until now could not be stored so it can be used at a later time when there is a need for more power, for example on a windless or stormy day when wind turbines are not able to operate.
Excess energy from wind turbines and solar panels is directed to the storage facility where it is converted into a hot air stream using a resistance heater and a large fan.
The hot air then heats up the volcanic rocks shipped in from Norway to a temperature of 750 degrees Celsius.
If energy is needed, the hot volcanic rocks can be simply converted back into grid power using a steam turbine.
The 130-megawatt plant can store energy for up to a week this way.
Similar storage facilities for 300 megawatt hours – enough for 15,000 households – are planned as well in Germany.
Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher said: “In the laboratory, the new storage facility has functioned for quite a while. Now it is also there on an industrial scale.
“That’s how we slow down climate change!”
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Story By: Koen Berghuis, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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