Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?

Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.

Energy storage

Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator or battery. Energy comes in multiple forms including radiation, chemical, gravitational potential, electrical potential, electricity, elevated temperature, latent heat and kinetic. Energy storage involves converting energy from forms that are difficult to store to more conveniently or economically storable forms. Some technologies provide short-term energy storage, while others can endure for much longer. Bulk energy storage is currently dominated by hydroelectric dams, both conventional as well as pumped. Grid energy storage is a collection of methods used for energy storage on a large scale within an electrical power grid. Common examples of energy storage are the rechargeable battery, which stores chemical energy readily convertible to electricity to operate a mobile phone; the hydroelectric dam, which stores energy in a reservoir as gravitational potential energy; and ice storage tanks, which store ice frozen by cheaper energy at night to meet peak daytime demand for cooling. Green hydrogen, from the electrolysis of water, is a more economical means of long-term renewable energy storage in terms of capital expenditures than pumped-storage hydroelectricity or batteries. Fossil fuels such as coal and gasoline store ancient energy derived from sunlight by organisms that later died, became buried and over time were then converted into these fuels. Food (which is made by the same process as fossil fuels) is a form of energy stored in chemical form. In the 20th century grid, electrical power was largely generated by burning fossil fuel. When less power was required, less fuel was burned. Hydropower, a mechanical energy storage method, is the most widely adopted mechanical energy storage, and has been in use for centuries. Large hydropower dams have been energy storage sites for more than one hundred years.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related categories (17)

Related concepts (37)

Related courses (29)

Related lectures (288)

Related MOOCs (9)

Related people (123)

Related publications (1,000)

Related startups (1)

Related units (15)

ENG-410: Energy supply, economics and transition

This course examines the supply of energy from various angles: available resources, how they can be combined or substituted, their private and social costs, whether they can meet the demand, and how t

PHYS-201(a): General physics : electromagnetism

Le cours traite des concepts de l'électromagnétisme et des ondes électromagnétiques.

EE-518: Analog circuits for biochip

Introduction to analog CMOS design for Remote Biosensors on Chip. Understanding and designing of active and remotely powered biosensing systems. Basic understanding of eh wireless transmission of teh

SES Swiss-Energyscope

La transition énergique suisse / Energiewende in der Schweiz

Plasma Physics: Introduction

Learn the basics of plasma, one of the fundamental states of matter, and the different types of models used to describe it, including fluid and kinetic.

Plasma Physics: Introduction

Learn the basics of plasma, one of the fundamental states of matter, and the different types of models used to describe it, including fluid and kinetic.

Aurora's Grid

Active in energy management, battery optimization and renewable energy. Aurora's Grid specializes in energy management software for Li-ion batteries, optimizing renewable energy consumption, reducing battery ageing, and cutting CO2 emissions.

State of charge

State of charge (SoC) is the level of charge of an electric battery relative to its capacity. SoC is usually expressed as percentage (0% = empty; 100% = full). An alternative form of the same measure is the depth of discharge (DoD), calculated as 100 - SoC (100% = empty; 0% = full). SoC is normally used when discussing the current state of a battery in use, while DoD is most often seen when discussing the lifetime of the battery after repeated use. In a battery electric vehicle (BEV), SoC for the battery pack is the equivalent of a fuel gauge.

Primary battery

A primary battery or primary cell is a battery (a galvanic cell) that is designed to be used once and discarded, and not recharged with electricity and reused like a secondary cell (rechargeable battery). In general, the electrochemical reaction occurring in the cell is not reversible, rendering the cell unrechargeable. As a primary cell is used, chemical reactions in the battery use up the chemicals that generate the power; when they are gone, the battery stops producing electricity.

Dry cell

A dry cell is a type of electric battery, commonly used for portable electrical devices. Unlike wet cell batteries, which have a liquid electrolyte, dry cells use an electrolyte in the form of a paste, and are thus less susceptible to leakage. The dry cell was developed in 1886 by the German scientist Carl Gassner, after development of wet zinc–carbon batteries by Georges Leclanché in 1866. A type of dry cell was also developed by the Japanese Sakizō Yai in 1887.

Health Prediction for Lithium-Ion Batteries Under Unseen Working Conditions

Florent Evariste Forest, Yunhong Che

Battery health prediction is significant while challenging for intelligent battery management. This article proposes a general framework for both short-term and long-term predictions of battery health under unseen dynamic loading and temperature conditions ...

Ieee-Inst Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc2024

Dynamic Behavior of Spatially Confined Sn Clusters and Its Application in Highly Efficient Sodium Storage with High Initial Coulombic Efficiency

Kumar Varoon Agrawal, Lei Zhang, Kangning Zhao, Xu Xu

Advanced battery electrodes require a cautious design of microscale particles with built-in nanoscale features to exploit the advantages of both micro- and nano-particles relative to their performance attributes. Herein, the dynamic behavior of nanosized S ...

Weinheim2024

Electrochemical devices and computer science: water/thermal management of proton exchange membrane fuel cells and electrolyzers in different scales

Hossein Pourrahmani

The current restrictions on the registration of combustion engines in different countries and the harmful impacts of fossil fuels on the environment and human health have motivated decision-makers to use batteries and/or fuel cells as alternatives for comb ...

EPFL2024

Topics in energy storage

Electric vehicles

An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes charged by solar panels, or by converting fuel to electricity using fuel cells or a generator). EVs include, but are not limited to, road and rail vehicles, surface and underwater vessels, electric aircraft, and electric spacecraft.

Electrochemistry

Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outcome of a particular chemical change, or vice versa. These reactions involve electrons moving via an electronically-conducting phase (typically an external electrical circuit, but not necessarily, as in electroless plating) between electrodes separated by an ionically conducting and electronically insulating electrolyte (or ionic species in a solution).

Energy Storage Technologies: SMES, Superconductivity, and Lithium-Ion Batteries CH-450: Solid state chemistry and energy applications

Explores the significance of SMES systems, superconductivity, and lithium-ion batteries, highlighting their roles in energy storage and global sustainability.

Advanced Features of a Learning Management System

Explores advanced features of an LMS, including grading policies, course organization, and practical sessions.

Capacitor Problems PHYS-201(a): General physics : electromagnetism

Covers exercises related to planar capacitors with square plates and a spring, evaluating equilibrium positions and the effect of changing battery polarity.