| sCO2 


As reflected in a current series of webinars organised by ETN Global (with the ETN, previously European Turbine Network, now standing for Energy & Turbomachinery Network), there is some very interesting R&D going on in Europe in the area of supercritical CO2


with additional R&D initiatives to be profiled in a future article. sCO2 innovation programme. Nine leading European sCO2


, much of it with EU funding coming from the Horizon research and research & development projects are outlined here, power cycles are a promising research


area due to potential benefits such as higher thermal efficiencies, reduced costs, lower emissions, and more compact components compared to conventional power generation technologies


Applications for supercritical CO2 envisaged by


European R&D projects include solar power (particularly CSP (concentrated solar power)), waste heat recovery, and nuclear plant decay heat removal.


Below is a summary of nine key European projects: CARBOSOLA; COMPASsCO2; CO2OLHEAT; DESOLINATION; iSOP; SCARABEUS; sCO2-Efekt; sCO2-4-NPP; and SOLARSCO2OL.


CARBOSOLA test facility schematic (source HZDR)


 generator


Heat source Heater Test section


Recuperator


CARBOSOLA, funded by the German government, is focused on use of sCO2


as the


working fluid in a Brayton cycle, with potential applications in CSP and waste heat recovery. A key part of the project is a MWt-scale test facility, with sCO2


at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), with temperatures planned for up to 650°C at 300 bar and mass flow rate 1.32 kg/s. Project duration October 2019 to March 2023, budget 2.2 million euro, participants: TU Dresden; Siemens Energy; DLR Institute of Solar Research; HZDR. Funded by the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi), indication 03EE5001D.


Liquid cooler as the working fluid, constructed Heat sink


Tmax = 650°C pmax = 300 bar m = 1.32 kg/s


the key component for such an integration, the particle/sCO2


heat exchanger, “in a relevant


environment.” To reach this goal, the consortium plans to produce tailored particle and alloy combinations that meet the extreme operating conditions in terms of temperature, pressure, abrasion and hot oxidation/carburisation of the heat exchanger tubes and the particles moving around/across them.


COMPASsCO2 (COmponents’ and Materials’


Performance for Advanced Solar Supercritical CO2


powerplants) is looking at the integration of CSP particle systems into sCO2


Brayton power cycles (see below).The principle aim is validating


Planned scope can be summarised as follows: Investigate, design, develop and test highly durable and effective particles for CSP receivers that can withstand the conditions for indirect integration with the sCO2


Brayton cycle, in particular high temperatures (over 700°C).


Investigate, design, develop and test metal alloys and coatings that guarantee reliable


and efficient operation of the particle/sCO2 heat exchanger.


Model the degradation of the materials developed.


Design, engineer and construct a heat exchanger section to validate the applicability of the components under the harsh conditions of a CSP sCO2


power plant.


Assess the economic competitiveness of a CSP sCO2


Brayton power plant using the


materials and components developed as part of the project. It is envisaged that sun-to- electricity efficiency of the overall system will be improved by 30% relative to current state- of-the-art CSP plants.


absorption particle receiver


Direct


Hot particle storage


900°C exchanger


Particle/ sCO2


400°C


Cold particle storage





Solar 


Particle transport system


CSP with particle receiver and sCO2 Brayton cycle (source COMPASsCO2 12 | January/February 2024| www.modernpowersystems.com ) 350°C recuperator  recuperator sCO2 recompression Brayton cycle CO2 OLHEAT (supercritical CO2 power cycles


demonstration in Operational environment Locally valorising industrial waste HEAT) is


 heat compressor Main compressor  Turbine


Duration November 2020 to October 2024, Horizon funded, budget 6 million euro, participants: DLR (co-ordinator); Ciemat; John Cockerill Renewables; CVR; Dechema Forschungsintitut; Forschungszentrum Jülich; OCAS; Ome; Saint Gobain; Sugimat; University of Birmingham; VTT. Funding received from the EU’s Horizon 2020, grant agreement (GA) No. 958418.


750°C 25MPa


Cooler


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