Sometimes our editors find items that are not exactly “heat treat” but do deal with interesting developments in one of our key markets: aerospace, automotive, medical, energy, or general manufacturing. To celebrate getting to the “fringe” of the weekend, Heat Treat Today presents a Heat Treat Fringe Friday with this press release which describes the energy and sustainability benefits of a recent partnership between a supplier of refractory elements and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Allied Mineral Products is providing refractory expertise on a new project that will collect and store unused renewable energy. They’ve teamed up with NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) on the ENDURING project, which focuses on long-duration energy storage using heated particles. Funding was awarded from ARPA-E, a government agency advancing high-impact energy technologies in the early stages of development with the idea that some could be transformative and powerful for the future.
The process in development can collect excess electrical energy and convert it into thermal energy. With the help of refractories in a holding vessel, this thermal energy can be efficiently stored for days. When it is needed, the stored thermal energy will go through a heat exchange process and be converted back into electricity for use by commercial or residential customers.
Reducing heat loss is critical as the proposed facility would provide electricity for several days with low-cost particle thermal energy storage. Allied is also selecting innovative products for use in other areas of the proposed plant that would experience high temperatures and wear. Specimens and testing of different refractory materials are being provided by Allied in support of these goals.
