Frontiers in Thermal Energy Storage

Join the University of Minnesota Energy Transition Lab and Fresh Energy on Thursday, June 12, for thought-provoking presentations by Professor Jane Davidson of UMN and special guest Charles Forsberg of MIT, to be followed by a lively conversation! Presentation details below.

Nuclear + Renewables in a Deeply Decarbonized Grid
Presentation by Dr. Charles Forsberg
Professor Forsberg’s slides

One of the biggest challenges nuclear power faces for the long term is very low market prices caused in part by the rapid expansion of fuel-free wind and solar. What if instead of competing with low-priced renewables, nuclear power’s role was to complement them—storing its output as thermal energy when market prices are low, and ramping up quickly when the sun goes down or winds fall off? Can nuclear energy be an important part of the puzzle in a deeply decarbonized multi-state electricity market?

Charles Forsberg, professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a UofM chemical engineering graduate, thinks so.

Can Thermal Energy Storage Contribute to an Efficient, Highly Renewable Grid?
Presentation by Dr. Jane Davidson

Is thermal energy storage (TES) a scalable solution to temporal mismatches in energy production and demand? Can TES be integrated in thermal power plants, including nuclear, to provide greater flexibility in plant operation to support the expansion of solar and wind? What breakthroughs in materials and systems are needed to make grid level TES viable?

Jane Davidson, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Solar Energy Lab, will discuss UMN research on these questions.

Thursday, July 12, 2018, 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Room 1-142, Carlson School of Management
321 19th Avenue South, West Bank UMN Minneapolis Campus, 55455
(1 block from West Bank Green Line Station; parking available at 19th Ave. ramp)

Light refreshments will be available. This event is free and open to the public.