Compressed air energy storage

Introduction

A compressed air energy storage (CAES) system stores energy by compressing air, retrieving it later on by expanding the compressed air and using the expansion to spin a generator. It is more sustainable than a battery due to its durability and low-tech design that enhance repairability. However, there are significant thermal losses during the expansion cycle that significantly decreases the efficiency of the system. Two divergent approaches are possible for overcoming this limitation that are suitable for micro-CAES deployments resilient to supply chain issues: isothermal operation, or harnessing of the generated heating and cooling. This project aims to construct a micro-CAES system following each approach, and investigate the thermodynamics involved in each type of system.

Reading

This is basically inspired by this blog post.