CO2 Electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle

Abstract

A CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle system employs CO2 to drive hybrid electric vehicles. The inflatable non-imaging solar concentrator based concentrating hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic system with ultra-high efficiency, extremely low cost, and super-light weight is able to electrochemically reduce the CO2 into CO and supply fuel to CO internal combustion engine. The thermoelectric activated thermal electricity storage is integrated into the system to store thermal energy and regenerate electric power. The entire system is made into a mobile EV charging station. The mobile EV charging station is not only able to generate electric power locally to charge EVs, but also able to transport power from solar powered EV changing station network and power grid to the sites where EVs are located.

Claims

1. The CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle system comprises of: (a) an inflatable non-imaging solar concentrator array; (b) an electric driving system; (c) a mobile platform containing a battery bank, a hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated storage package array, a CO2 electrolysis system, a CO compressor system, a swappable CO2 tank system, a swappable CO tank system, and an CO internal combustion engine; (d) a bidirectional charger; (e) a control system; Wherein, the inflatable non-imaging solar concentrator array is optically coupled to the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated storage package array of the mobile platform; the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated storage package array is connected to the CO2 electrolysis system with electric cables; the CO2 electrolysis system is connected to the CO compressor system; the CO compressor system is connected to the swappable CO tank system; the swappable CO tank system is connected to the CO internal combustion engine; the CO internal combustion engine is connected with the electric driving system either in “series” or “parallel”; the bidirectional charger is connected with the battery bank with electric cables; and the control system is connected to the battery bank, hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated storage package array, and the bidirectional charger with electric cables; the electric driving system is connected with the mobile platform, and the inflatable non-imaging solar concentrator array, the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated storage package array, the bidirectional charger, the battery bank, the CO2 electrolysis system, CO compressor system, CO internal combustion engine, swappable CO2 tanks, swappable CO tanks, the control system, are mounted on the mobile platform; When in operation, the inflatable non-imaging solar concentrator based concentrating hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic system with thermoelectric activated storage package array cogenerate electric power and thermal energy, the cogenerated electric power is used to electrochemically reduce the CO2 into CO, then CO is compressed into the swappable CO storage tanks by using the CO compressor system, and the cogenerated heat is stored in the thermal storage to be extracted out and turned back to electric power to charge the battery bank at night or in cloudy days; the battery bank is used to charge EVs through the bidirectional charger; in the case when the cogenerated power is not enough to charge multiple EVs, the battery bank of the charging station can be charged by other solar power generation stations or conventional power grid through the bidirectional charger, then transport power to the EVs located in other sites.

2. The CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle system of claim 1, wherein the electric driving system comprises a battery bank, a converter, an inverter, a motor, an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) and battery management system.

3. The CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle system of claim 1, the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated thermal storage package comprises a hybrid photovoltaic and thermal panel, which comprises a glazing, a solar cell array, and a metal sheet, thermoelectric modules, thermal storage package, which comprises a top insulation layer, a heat exchanger, thermal mass, and a backside insulation layer, and frames with side insulation materials.

4. The hybrid photovoltaic and thermal panel of claim 3, is laminated and sealed.

5. The thermoelectric modules of claim 3, are attached to the backside of the metal sheet and the heat exchanger is attached to the thermoelectric modules surrounded by the insulation layer.

6. The heat exchanger of claim 3, is buried into the thermal mass which is insulated by the back side insulation layer and the side insulation materials within frames. When in operation, the incident sunlight penetrates through the glazing and reaches the solar cell arrays; a portion of the sunlight is converted into electricity directly, and rest become heat; the heat is extracted, boosted its temperature, and transferred to the heat exchanger by the thermoelectric modules; the heat exchanger distributes the heat into the thermal mass; When at night or in cloudy days, the stored heat in the thermal mass transferring through the heat exchanger and the thermoelectric modules, is converted back into electricity by the thermoelectric modules which is operating in the generator mode at this movement.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0019] FIG. 1 is the schematic indication of the CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle system.

[0020] FIG. 2 is the schematic indication of the system configuration of the CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle system.

[0021] FIG. 3 is the schematic indication of the system configuration of the CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle system with highlight of the swappable CO2 tanks and CO storage tanks.

[0022] FIG. 4 is the inflatable non-imaging solar concentrator based concentrating hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic system unit with a receiver integrated with a thermoelectric activated thermal electricity storage package.

[0023] FIG. 5 is the swappable CO2 and CO storage tanks with automatic controlled valves.

[0024] FIG. 6 is the configuration charter of the entire CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle system.

[0025] FIG. 7 is the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated thermal storage package.

[0026] FIG. 8 is the cross section view of the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated thermal storage package

[0027] FIG. 9 is the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver component with thermoelectric modules.

[0028] FIG. 10 is the thermal storage component of the thermoelectric activated thermal storage package.

[0029] FIG. 11 is the schematic structure of the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated thermal storage package and its energy storage work principle explanation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Reference will now be made in detail to the present exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 1, the mobile inflatable hybrid concentrating solar thermal and photovoltaic system based electric vehicle charging station consists of the driving electric vehicle 1000, the mobile platform 2000, the inflatable non-imaging solar concentrator based hybrid concentrating solar thermal and photovoltaic system unit array 3000, and the bidirectional charger 4000 which is embedded into the mobile platform 2000 and is not indicated in FIG. 1.

[0032] Referring to FIG. 2, the power train of the driving electric vehicle 1000 includes the battery pack 1100, the converter 1200, the inverter 1300, the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) and battery management 1400, and the electric motor 1500. The power system of the mobile charging station consists of the battery bank 2100, the control system 2200, the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated thermal storage 2300, CO2 electrolysis system 2400, CO compressor system 2500, CO internal combustion engine 2600, and the bidirectional charger 4000.

[0033] Referring to FIG. 3, the power system of the mobile charging station consists especially the swappable CO storage tank system 2700 and swappable CO2 storage tank system 2800.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 4, the inflatable solar concentrator 3000 based concentrating hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic system consists a receiver 2300 with thermoelectric activated thermal electricity storage.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 5, the swappable CO2 and CO storage tanks 2700/2800 have automatically controlled valves 2900.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 6, the power system of the entire CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle consists of the driving electric vehicle 1000, the battery bank 2200, hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated thermal storage package array 2300, control system 2100, CO2 electrolysis system 2400, swappable CO2 storage tank system 2800, CO compressor system 2500, swappable CO storage tank system 2700, CO internal combustion engine system 2600, which are embedded into the mobile platform, the inflatable non-imaging solar concentrator based hybrid concentrating solar thermal and photovoltaic system unit array 3000, and the bidirectional charger 4000. When in operation, the inflatable non-imaging solar concentrator array of the inflatable non-imaging solar concentrator based hybrid concentrating solar thermal and photovoltaic system unit array concentrates sunlight and couples concentrated sunlight 2301 onto the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated thermal storage package 2300, portion of it is converted into electricity which is conducted to the CO2 electrolysis system 2400 to electrochemically reduce it into CO, the CO is compressed by the compressor system 2500 into the swappable CO storage tank system 2700 to supply to the CO internal combustion engine 2600, which is coupled with the driving system 1000 to generate torque or generate power, the rest is converted into thermal energy and raised in temperature and stored into the thermal storage. When needed, the stored thermal storage is extracted to regenerate power through the thermoelectric modules in the package. The stored power in the battery bank 2200, and the stored thermal energy in 2300 can be extracted to charge electric vehicles through the bi-directional charger 4000. The battery bank can be also charged by other solar power generation systems or power grid through the bidirectional charger 4000.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 7, the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated thermal storage is an insulated power generation and energy storage package.

[0038] Referring to FIG. 8, the hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic receiver with thermoelectric activated thermal storage consists of hybrid photovoltaic and thermal panel 2310 which comprises the glazing 2311, solar cell array 2312, and the metal sheet 2313, thermoelectric module 2320, thermal storage package 2330 which comprises the top insulation layer 2331, heat exchanger 2332, thermal mass 2333, and backside insulation layer 2334, and frames 2360 with side insulation materials. The hybrid photovoltaic and thermal panel 2310 is laminated and sealed; the thermoelectric modules 2320 are attached to the backside of the metal sheet 2313; the heat exchanger 2332 is attached to the thermoelectric modules surrounded by the insulation layer 2331; the heat exchanger 2332 is buried into the thermal mass which is insulated by the back side insulation layer 2334 and the side insulation materials within frames 2360. When in operation, the incident sunlight penetrates through the glazing 2311 and reaches the solar cell arrays 2312; a portion of the sunlight is converted into electricity directly, and rest become heat; the heat is extracted, boosted its temperature, and transferred to the heat exchanger 2332 by the thermoelectric modules 2320; the heat exchanger 2332 distributes the heat into the thermal mass 2333. When at night or in cloudy days, the stored heat in the thermal mass 2333 transferring through the heat exchanger 2332 and the thermoelectric modules 2320, is converted back into electricity by the thermoelectric modules 2320 which is operating in the generator mode at this movement.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 9, the assembly of the hybrid photovoltaic and thermal panel 2310, thermoelectric modules 2320, and insulation layer 2331, is further illustrated.

[0040] Referring to FIG. 10, the assembly of the heat exchanger 2332, thermal mass 2333 and the backside insulation layer 2334 is further illustrated.

[0041] Referring to FIG. 11, the entire hybrid photovoltaic and thermal panel, thermoelectric module, and thermal storage module system comprises the hybrid photovoltaic and thermal panel 2310, thermoelectric modules 2320, thermal storage package 2330, battery bank 2340 and control system 2350. When in operation, the sunlight 2301 shines on the hybrid photovoltaic and thermal panel 2310, which cogenerates electricity and heat, the cogenerated electricity is conducted to the battery bank 2340, and the cogenerated heat 2302 is transferred to thermoelectric modules and boosted up to higher temperature heat 2303, then transferred into the thermal storage package 2330. At night or in cloudy days, the stored heat 2304 flow through the thermoelectric modules 2320 to convert it back to electricity with control system 2350 to switch the operating modes of the thermoelectric modules from cooler to generator, the heat 2305 dissipated from the thermoelectric modules 2320 is transferred back to the hybrid photovoltaic and thermal panel 2310. The thermoelectric module generated electricity is conducted to battery bank 2340 through the control system 2350.

[0042] From the description above, number of advantages of the CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle system become evident. Instead of emitting CO2 as the conventional hybrid electric vehicle, the CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle consume CO2 and solar energy simultaneously. CO is employed to store solar energy and drive electric vehicle through the internal combustion engine. The CO2 electrochemical reduction based solar powered hybrid internal combustion engine and battery electric vehicle can be electrically charged anywhere and anytime when the charging stations and time are available. The hybrid concentrating solar thermal and photovoltaic system with ultra-high efficiency, extremely low cost and super light weight is used in mobile EV charging stations. The thermoelectric activated thermal storage system, which not only facilitates the energy storage, but also enhances photovoltaic power generation through cooling the photovoltaic panel, is integrated into the mobile charging station. The bidirectional charger, which can be used to charge EVs and get the mobile charging station charged by other solar generation systems and power grid to transport power from one place to another, is incorporated into the system. As a mobile system, this invention extends the solar powered EV charging station network and connect it to conventional power grid.

[0043] In the preceding specification, various preferred embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however, be evident that various other modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.

[0044] Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.