DISTRIBUTED HIERARCHICAL CONTROL ARCHITECTURE FOR INTEGRATING SMART GRID ASSETS DURING NORMAL AND DISRUPTED OPERATIONS
Distributed generation, demand response, distributed storage, smart appliances, electric vehicles, and other emerging distributed smart grid assets are expected to play a key part in the transformation of the American power system. Due to the variability and uncertainty associated with these resources, there is much trepidation from the part of system planners and operators about the controllability of such resources, and how they affect the stability of the grid infrastructure. It is proposed to develop a hierarchical, distributed control architecture, enabling smart grid assets to effectively contribute to grid operations in a controllable manner, while ensuring system stability and equitably rewarding their contribution. The architecture will unify the dispatch of these resources to provide both market-based and balancing services. A means to dynamically select and arm the autonomous responses from these assets, enabling them to offer significant reliability benefits under the full range of grid operating conditions, will be developed. Transmission-level controls will be integrated with new and existing distribution-level control strategies, within a market structure, under both normal and disrupted operations (disrupted communications and other unforeseen events).
AMMONIA PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS (iEdison No. iEdison No. 0685901-21-0133)
Ammonia is one of the most produced chemical commodities in the word, second to sulfuric acid ($76.64B by 2025, https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-ammonia-market). More than half the ammonia produced is used in agriculture, making this commodity one of the most useful for feeding the entire world's population and paving the way for the last centuries growth during the industrial revolution. The production of ammonia is currently performed by the Haber-Bosh process, invented in the 1918, and still in use, even though this process in very energy intensive, requiring high temperatures (400-600 degrees C) and high pressure (20-40 MPa) to make this process viable. Improvements on this process would be incredibly important for the future of our world, in that the production of this commodity (ammonia) would save enormous amounts of energy and lower our carbon footprint. As this market is $50B-76B in the near term, a deployed new process could bring in returns on the $100M-1B range as a very rough ROM on the TOM for this technology deployed to a production plant/nuclear power plant. (Carlos A. Fernandez and Marta C. Hatzell 2020 J. Electrochem. Soc. 167 143504). The main driver for this technology is the significant energy savings/operations costs over the current process. %MCEPASTEBIN% Ammonia is one of the most produced chemical commodities in the word, second to sulfuric acid ($76.64B by 2025, https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-ammonia-market). More than half the ammonia produced is used in agriculture, making this commodity one of the most useful for feeding the entire world's population and paving the way for the last centuries growth during the industrial revolution. The production of ammonia is currently performed by the Haber-Bosh process, invented in the 1918, and still in use, even though this process in very energy intensive, requiring high temperatures (400-600 degrees C) and high pressure (20-40 MPa) to make this process viable. [MSS1] [HLR2], Improvements on this process would be incredibly important for the future of our world, in that the production of this commodity (ammonia) would save enormous amounts of energy and lower our carbon footprint., As this market is $50B-76B in the near term, a deployed new process could bring in returns on the $100M-1B range as a very rough ROM on the TOM for this technology deployed to a production plant/nuclear power plant. (Carlos A. Fernandez and Marta C. Hatzell 2020 J. Electrochem. Soc. 167 143504). The main driver for this technology is the significant energy savings/operations costs over the current process.
Using Bi-Directional Communications in a Market-Based Resource Allocation System
Disclosed herein are representative embodiments of methods, apparatus, and systems for distributing a resource (such as electricity) using a resource allocation system. In one exemplary embodiment, a plurality of requests for electricity are received from a plurality of end-use consumers. The requests indicate a requested quantity of electricity and a consumer-requested index value indicative of a maximum price a respective end-use consumer will pay for the requested quantity of electricity. A plurality of offers for supplying electricity are received from a plurality of resource suppliers. The offers indicate an offered quantity of electricity and a supplier-requested index value indicative of a minimum price for which a respective supplier will produce the offered quantity of electricity. A dispatched index value is computed at which electricity is to be supplied based at least in part on the consumer-requested index values and the supplier-requested index values.
Redox Flow Batteries Based on Supporting Solutions Containing Chloride
Redox flow battery systems having a supporting solution that contains Cl− ions can exhibit improved performance and characteristics. Furthermore, a supporting solution having mixed SO42− and Cl− ions can provide increased energy density and improved stability and solubility of one or more of the ionic species in the catholyte and/or anolyte. According to one example, a vanadium-based redox flow battery system is characterized by an anolyte having V2+ and V3+ in a supporting solution and a catholyte having V4+ and V5+ in a supporting solution. The supporting solution can contain Cl− ions or a mixture of SO42− and Cl− ions.
ELECTROLYTES FOR LITHIUM ION AND LITHIUM METAL BATTERIES (iEdison No. 0685901-21-0140)
The high flammability of state-of-the-art liquid electrolytes is a major hazard for the safe operation of lithium (Li) ion batteries (LIBs) and Li metal batteries (LMBs). In this invention, flame retardants (FRs) with distinct solvation abilities were employed as the solvent and diluent of highly safe electrolytes. Because of the difference in the solvating abilities of the two selected flame retardants, the unique solvation structure of localized high concentration electrolytes (LHCEs) is created, which facilitates the formation of effective solid electrolyte interphases (SEIs) on Li and graphite (Gr) electrodes. Consequently, the FR-based LHCEs allow long-term cycling of LIBs and LMBs. Since both the solvating solvent and the diluent are FRs, the FR-based LHCEs exhibit superior flame resistivity to the conventional LiPF6-organocarbonate electrolytes and the previous LHCEs.