Can solar power be stored in sulfur?

Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and their European partners plan to develop an innovative sulfur-based storage system for solar power. Large-scale chemical storage of solar power and its overnight use as a fuel are to be achieved by means of a closed sulfur-sulfuric acid cycle.

Can a sulfur-based solar energy storage system be used for solar power?

The sulfur-based technology for the storage of solar energy will be tested at the Jülich solar power tower. (Photo: DLR) Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and their European partners plan to develop an innovative sulfur-based storage system for solar power.

Could sulfur be a suitable storage material for base-load electricity production?

“Solar power plants effectively capture process heat and sulfur might be a suitable storage material to use this power for base-load electricity production,” Professor Dimosthenis Trimis of KIT’s Engler-Bunte Institute says. Sulfur and sulfuric acid are used in many industrial applications.

Can a sulfur cycle store solar energy?

“Sulfur cycle not only can permanently store solar energy with virtually no energy losses but, being one of the lightest solid elements and extremely energy-rich, has 30 times higher energy density compared to molten salts.

Could Sulphuric Acid split be used for thermal energy storage?

By 2021, under the PEGASUS project, Sattler’s team at DLR, along with KIT and several European partner companies had already demonstrated first-of-its-kind sulphuric acid splitting for thermal energy storage.

Can sulphuric acid be used as fuel?

In such cycles, sulphur can be repeatedly used as fuel. As demonstrated in the PEGASUS project, this can be achieved with the help of renewable energy sources. A solar thermal plant can provide the high temperatures required for the decomposition of sulphuric acid using concentrated solar radiation.