Carbon-hydride Energy Storage System

• Main Authors: Hajime Emori, Toru Kawamura, Takao Ishikawa, Tetsuo Takamura
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Showa; Showa Station; Antarc*; Antarctica; polar night; midnight sun
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1039.3422; http://www.hitachi.com/rev/pdf/2013/r2013_03_105.pdf

INTRODUCTION THE carbon-hydride energy storage system (CHES) makes it easy to store and transport large quantities of renewable energy such as wind and photovoltaic power, which fluctuates greatly. The electric power generated using renewable energy is converted into hydrogen, which is itself converted into methylcyclohexane (MCH), thereby transforming the energy medium of hydrogen into a form that is easy to handle. As a result, the excess amounts of wind power, photovoltaic power, and other forms of renewable energy where it is difficult to provide supply that matches demand can be stored for long periods of time, making it possible to achieve a stable energy supply. This system, which makes it possible to store energy for a long period of time, can contribute to energy self-sufficiency in regions where the supply of renewable energy is a burden. For instance, the fuel currently used at Antarctica's Showa Station is transported by the Antarctica icebreaker Shirase, and it takes up approximately half of the vessel's cargo capacity. Since as energy demand increases in the future, fuel transportation will limit the amount of energy available, and so by obtaining renewable energy that is available in Antarctica itself such as wind and photovoltaic power, the station will need to achieve energy self-sufficiency. Antarctica faces the polar night without sun during winter, however, and the sun never goes down during the midnight sun period of summer. This is why Antarctica is an ideal candidate region for testing this system by acquiring