Multi-dimensional life cycle assessment of decentralised energy storage systems

Journal article (2019)

Authors

L. Stougie Energy and Industry
Giulia Del Santo University of Florence
Giulia Innocenti University of Florence
Emil Goosen Niccolò Cusano University
D.A. Vermaas AquaBattery B.V., ChemE/Transport Phenomena - AS
H.J. van der Kooi Reservoir Engineering - CEG
Lidia Lombardi Niccolò Cusano University
Research Group
Energy and Industry
Sustainability Exergy Environmental Life cycle assessment Economic Decentralised energy storage
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

2019

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Research Group

Energy and Industry

Abstract

The intermittent nature of renewable energy sources like solar and wind energy stimulates the use of centralised and decentralised energy storage systems. The sustainability of lead acid, lithium-ion and concentration gradient flow batteries, compressed air and pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) systems is investigated by conducting a multi-dimensional life cycle assessment. The environmental, economic and exergetic sustainability are assessed by calculating ReCiPe 2016 indicators, the present worth ratio and the Total Cumulative Exergy Loss, respectively. The multi-dimensional sustainability assessment did not lead to one preferred system. The PHES causes the lowest damage to human health, ecosystem diversity and resource availability and results in the lowest global warming potential. The concentration gradient flow battery system named BBS is preferred from an economic viewpoint, while the PHES is second-best. The lithium-ion battery system causes the lowest exergy losses, followed by the PHES. It is recommended to pay attention to the exergetic sustainability of technological systems as exergy losses are independent of environmental models, weighting factors, market prices, subsidies etc. More research into the specifications of the energy storage systems is needed to be able to draw firm conclusions with regard to which system is preferred.