Thermal Storage 101

Electro-Thermal Energy Storage (“ETES”) uses

• Cheap Intermittent Electricity to

• Charge a Heat Battery to

• Deliver heat or steam continuously (dispatchable) with

• Zero Scope 1 emissions

To provide clients with

• Reduced emissions costs and

• a net-zero growth path for investors and

• a complementary solution or cost-effective alternative to Carbon Capture and Storage

Arder Energy cooperates closely with manufacturers of proven ETES technologies. We specialize in commercial concept design and project funding solutions. We focus on profitable applications - already feasible today for 5-15% of steam demand in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. While ETES is not a “silver bullet” for all industrial heat & steam requirements, it presents a very economically attractive option for a large number of facilities.

Our clients can focus on their core businesses while we design a profitable decarbonization pathway.

Using electricity to generate steam may be counterintuitive - why convert a highly valuable energy carrier like electricity into “simple” heat? This indeed only makes sense if the electricity is cheaper than e.g. Natural Gas or if Scope 1 emissions need to be significantly reduced. And both of these factors are becoming increasingly true.

The game changer for electricity prices is the rapid growth of wind and solar power generation. These forms of renewable power generation often have the lowest levelized cost of electricity, see e.g. detailed analysis by investment bank Lazard. And when the wind blows and the sun shines, power prices increasingly go to zero or even negative, even in Canada (see detailed analysis in our “Alberta Power” series of Insight Articles).

But what if the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine? That’s where the heat battery comes in. It needs only 6-8 hours of charging per day to provide 100% steam output continuously. The heat battery is charged through electric resistance heater wires - like a giant toaster. And the heat is then stored in refractory bricks - like in a steel kiln, with temperatures of up to 1,500 C. The bricks have air channels, and a blower circulates air through these channels. The air is heated to match the output of a gas power burner and then enters a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) to generate steam.

Sounds simple, almost boring? It is, and that’s what makes the approach so robust and cost effective. And safe - with zero thermal runaway or toxic release risk. Why hasn’t this been done before? As mentioned, the game changer have been intermittently cheap power prices, a relatively new phenomenon.

If you would like to learn more and explore options to decarbonize heat or steam production in a profitable way, please Contact Us, consult the FAQ or see our Insights article Emissions-free steam: Keeping it Simple for more details.