Roles of Thermal Energy Storage in Hybrid Energy Systems of a High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Small Modular Reactor and Thermal Solar Units

Abstract

Both nuclear and renewable energy resources are among the most critical keys to decarbonization. Each has its advantages and drawbacks. As a result, a new concept of energy systems has been developed recently, known as Hybrid Energy Systems (HESs), where nuclear and renewable energy resources are integrated to meet load demands in different forms. In this study, transient heat transfer behaviours of the storage medium within the thermal energy storage (TES) unit integrated with a High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Small Modular Reactor (HTGC-SMR) is investigated numerically in different operation modes. The goal of this investigation to examine the feasibility of integrating TES with HTGC-SMRs. It was found that the introduction of a TES unit could not only serves as an additional safety margin in the event of a sudden electric load rejection through charging processes, but also help to achieve power demand-following characteristic of the SMR without taxing the reactor too much in term of reactor load changes. In addition, a decrease in the sizing and horizontally placement of the TES unit could potentially increase the heat transfer rate.