Integrated Concentrating Solar Photovoltaic-Thermal and Pumped Thermal Energy Storage Systems in Canada’s Cold Climate
Project overview
The project aims to address the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions amidst the rise in extreme weather events linked to climate change. By focusing on electrification using renewable energy sources, particularly wind and solar, the project identifies a critical pathway towards decreasing dependence on fossil fuels. Despite the potential of wind and solar energy to meet a substantial part of Canada’s energy demand, their intermittent nature calls for innovative energy storage solutions.
This research is a collaboration with a Calgary-based company to advance concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T) systems optimized for cold climates and to explore the integration with pumped thermal energy storage (PTES) systems. These efforts are expected to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of solar energy conversion and storage, highlighting Canada’s significant potential for deploying concentrating solar thermal technology to meet and exceed its energy demands sustainably.
Key project details
| Principal investigator | Aggrey Mwesigye, assistant professor, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary |
Co-principal investigators |
Abdulmajeed Mohamad, professor, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary; Dominic Groulx, professor, Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University; Fuzhan Nasiri, associate Professor, Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University. |
Research collaborators |
Wahiba Yaici, research scientist, CanmetENERGY-Ottawa, Natural Resources Canada; Apostol Radev, SolarSteam Inc. |
| Non-academic collaborators | SolarSteam Inc., Natural Resources Canada |
| Research Keywords | Pumped thermal energy storage, concentrating solar thermal, thermal energy storage, cold climate, phase change material |
| Budget | Cash: $200,000 In-Kind: $40,000 |
Research focus
Development and optimization of hybrid solar energy systems
This project aims to develop, model, test and optimize novel configurations of high-temperature concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T) systems, especially designed for cold climates. This includes creating novel receivers for compound parabolic trough collectors (CPCs) and parabolic trough collectors (PTCs), enhancing the efficiency of solar energy conversion.
Comprehensive performance evaluation
Evaluate the energetic, exergetic, economic and environmental performance of integrated CPV/T and pumped thermal energy storage (PTES) systems under Canada's diverse climatic conditions. This holistic assessment ensures the viability and sustainability of the proposed solutions.
Material selection and testing for energy storage
Focus on selecting and testing suitable materials for medium-to-high temperature thermal energy storage within the PTES systems. This step is critical for ensuring the durability and efficiency of the energy storage solution.
Innovation in thermal energy storage systems
Develop, characterize, and optimize a novel high-energy density and high-temperature thermal energy storage system. This goal aims to advance the state of thermal energy storage technologies, enabling more efficient and longer-duration storage.
Real-world system performance characterization
Experimentally characterize the performance of the developed CPV/T systems under realistic operating conditions. This involves testing the systems' efficiencies and adaptability to actual environmental conditions, ensuring their practical applicability and performance reliability.
Efficiency and storage enhancements
This project seeks to achieve an overall efficiency (optical, electrical, and thermal) of 85 per cent for the CPV/T system and a power-to-power efficiency of over 80 per cent for the PTES systems. These ambitious targets represent a significant advancement over current technologies, highlighting the project's commitment to pushing the boundaries of solar energy conversion and storage efficiency.
Non-academic partners
Thank you to our non-academic partners for your support and trust.
