Comparison of the economic conditions of energy storage systems efficiency at nuclear power plants: latent heat thermal energy storage and autonomous hydrogen energy complex

The increase in the share of nuclear power plants in energy systems, uneven consumption of electric energy and active introduction of renewable sources with unstable power generation mode into the world energy systems force nuclear power plants to operate in an alternating mode. At the same time, it is advisable to operate NPPs with the maximum coefficient of use of the installed capacity due to significant capital investments in the construction of the plant at a relatively low price for nuclear fuel. The paper presents a comparative analysis of the energy accumulation systems at NPPs previously developed by the authors: a thermal energy accumulation system based on the phase transition of a specially selected material and, as an alternative to a phase transition heat accumulator, an autonomous hydrogen energy complex is studied in the paper, including an electrolysis system for the production of hydrogen and oxygen, gas storage facilities, compressor units, a hydrogen-oxygen combustion chamber, and a hot water tank. For the energy complexes under study, the technical and system conditions under which a positive economic effect is achieved are determined, the boundary conditions under which the payback of the invested funds is achieved are shown. The accumulation systems were studied using the example of an installation at a NPP with a WWER-1200 reactor together with an additional steam turbine, which, as was previously proven by the authors, can be used to supply the station’s own power needs when it is disconnected from the power system by using the reactor’s power or its residual heat. Thus, the developed accumulation systems allow, under certain conditions, to obtain additional profit, recouping the capital investment in themselves, and provide additional backup for the station’s own needs in the event of disconnection from the power system.

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