Embodiments provide a system and method for harvesting solar thermal energy. According to at least one embodiment, there is provided a system which includes an absorption module, a storage module, and a flow control module. The absorption module retains a working fluid in a substantially constant volume and facilitates absorption of solar thermal energy in the working fluid. The storage module is fluidically coupled to the absorption module and is spatially positioned such that working fluid stored therein has higher gravitational potential energy relative to that stored in the absorption module. The flow control module permits passage of the working fluid from the absorption module to the storage module based on pressure of the working fluid in the absorption module exceeding a predefined threshold. When the working fluid transfers from the absorption module to the storage module, the thermal kinetic energy of the working fluid is transformed into gravitational potential energy thereof.

A supercritical carbon dioxide power generation Brayton cycle system and method that employs an alternate heat recuperation method and apparatus that utilizes switched banks of bead filled tanks to accumulate and recover the thermal energy of the two streams of working fluid in such a way that the variable thermal properties of the supercritical carbon dioxide can be accommodated without significant loss of thermal efficiency.

A method for modifying a solar thermal power plant operating on conventional oil based technology into a hybrid solar thermal power plant includes: providing an oil-based solar thermal power plant, which includes a solar collection system with at least one radiation absorber tube containing a heat transfer oil to be heated by the solar collection system; providing a molten salts solar thermal power plant, which includes a solar collection system to heat a molten salts mixture; and coupling the respective plants such that the hybrid solar thermal power plant is configured to heat medium temperature steam generated by the oil based solar power plant by the molten salts mixture thereby producing high temperature steam and subsequently supplying it to a steam turbine to generate electricity.

The invention relates to a method and a device for generating electrical energy in a combined system consisting of a power plant and an air handling system. The power plant comprises a first gas expansion unit connected to a generator. The air handling system comprises an air compression unit, a heat exchange system, and a fluid tank. In a first operating mode, feed air is compressed in the air compression unit and cooled in the heat exchange system. A storage fluid is generated from the compressed and cooled feed air and is stored as cryogenic fluid in fluid tank. In a second operating mode, cryogenic fluid is removed from fluid tank and is vaporized, or pseudo-vaporized, at superatmospheric pressure. The gaseous high pressure storage fluid generated is expanded in the gas expansion unit. Gaseous natural gas is introduced into the heat exchange system (21) to be liquefied.

A method including: (i) operating a pumped-heat energy storage system (“PHES system”) in a charge mode to convert electricity into stored thermal energy in a hot thermal storage medium (“HTS medium”) by transferring heat from a working fluid to a warm HTS medium, resulting in a hot HTS medium, wherein the PHES system is further operable in a generation mode to convert at least a portion of the stored thermal energy into electricity; and (ii) heating the hot HTS medium with an electric heater above a temperature achievable by transferring heat from the working fluid to the warm HTS medium.

A combustion system with surface-less heat energy exchange for efficient heat energy capture and lower pollutant emission, comprising: a first line feeding an oxygen-rich reactive; a second line feeding a hydrogen fuel; a vessel containing feed-water, a combustion enclosure without a bottom wall submersed into the feed water contained in a vessel, the combustion enclosure configured to receive the feed from each of the first and second line and combust a mixture of the two feeds in a pocket formed between an inner top and side walls of the combustion enclosure and a top surface of the feed-water contained in the vessel; and the combustion within the pocket yielding a high temperature and pressure combustion product and by-product directly into the feed-water of the vessel.

The invention relates to a method for storing energy and for dispensing energy into an energy supply grid by means of a pressurized gas storage power plant, which has at least one first storage chamber and at least one second storage chamber separate from the first, wherein in order to store energy pressurized gas is taken from the lower-pressure storage chamber, is compressed by means of a compression machine and the compressed pressurized gas exiting the compression machine is routed into the other storage chamber; in order to dispense energy pressurized gas is taken from the higher-pressure storage chamber, is routed through an expansion machine and the expanded pressurized gas exiting the expansion machine is transferred into the other storage chamber, wherein the expansion machine dispenses energy to the energy supply grid, wherein the pressurized gas is heated by means of a heating device prior to or upon supply to the expansion machine. The invention also relates to a corresponding pressurized gas storage power plant and to a computer program for carrying out the method.

Traditional power generation with a turbine may be inefficient, costly or inconvenient. The improvement disclosed herein involves the use of two fluids. A pressurizing fluid is vaporized, pressurized and fed into a pressure cylinder holding a liquid working fluid. The pressurizing fluid forces the working fluid out of the pressure cylinder and through a liquid turbine to generate electricity or perform work. The working fluid is recycled from the turbine into another pressure cylinder for re-use. The pressurizing fluid is condensed and then also recycled back to the evaporator where it is vaporized and pressurized again. Use of a liquid rather than gas turbine makes for improved efficiency and lower cost. The use of a separate pressurizing fluid, which may be volatile, allows for convenient use where the temperature of the thermal source is limited.

A method including: (i) operating a pumped-heat energy storage system (“PHES system”) in a charge mode to convert electricity into stored thermal energy in a hot thermal storage medium (“HTS medium”) by transferring heat from a working fluid to a warm HTS medium, resulting in a hot HTS medium, wherein the PHES system is further operable in a generation mode to convert at least a portion of the stored thermal energy into electricity; and (ii) heating the hot HTS medium with an electric heater above a temperature achievable by transferring heat from the working fluid to the warm HTS medium.

The subject of the invention is the method of conversion of thermal energy into mechanical energy and a thermo-hydrodynamic converter in which the said conversion occurs, which is the result of combustion of the fuel in the boiler in which generated steam is directed to converter vessels, whereas during continuous operation the steam is reheated and it is repeatedly used in converter units of different pressures.

The method of conversion of thermal energy into mechanical energy for power generation consists in that water is heated in the boiler (kp) to obtain steam that is supplied under the pressure of about 100 atm and at the temperature of about 500° C. to the vessel (tk1) from where it forces out the water accumulated in the vessel, which flowing out from the vessel (tk1) drives the water turbine (10) and this water turbine drives the power generator (11), and then the water is supplied to the vessel (tk2) from where it is forced out by the steam supplied from the boiler (kp), which water flowing out from the vessel (tk2) drives the water turbine (10) and this water turbine drives the power generator (11), and then this water is supplied to the vessel (tk3) from where it is forced out by the steam supplied from the boiler (kp), which water flowing out from the vessel (tk3) drives the water turbine (10) and this water turbine drives the power generator (11), and then this water is supplied to the vessel (tk4) from where it is forced out by the steam supplied from the boiler (kp), which water flowing out from the vessel (tk4) drives the water turbine (10) and this water turbine drives the power generator (11), whereby the water returns to the vessel (tk1), and the steam from the vessel (tk4) returns to the boiler (kp) preheating the steam produced there and the working cycle of the vessels (tk1), (tk2), (tk3), (tk4) of the converter is repeated from the beginning.