Renewable energy for energy production, like Solar, is turning out to be very pertinent in today's world [1]. It is very clear that Solar Energy is going to emerge as one of the key sources of energy in future. Moreover, the storage option is going to play an essential role to the future deployment of solar power plants. Concentrated solar power plants with thermal storage, photovoltaic plants integrated with battery energy storage, and hybrid plants are attractive solutions to obtain a stable and dispatchable energy production. Investors or policymakers usually find it challenging to come up with the most feasible solar storage technology because they need to consider techno-economic feasibility, and at the same time, from a market or administrative perspective as well. So, this thesis study will address the key problem which is aimed at investors or policymakers since there is a need to choose the best solar storage technology at a utility level in future based on so many attributes. The thesis project was carried out in two phases which includes forecast modelling & estimations and techno-economic assessment of virtual plants. These two phases helped to address various questions in relation to the problem statement of this study. The entire thesis study broadly covered seven countries spanning across four major regions around the world. The first phase of the thesis, forecast modelling estimations shows how the seven countries will look in future (2020 – 2050) with respect to installed capacity and costs for PV, CSP, and BESS technologies. Some major results from phase 1 include, in low-cost estimates, China will remain to be the market leader in PV & CSP by 2050. In U.S.A and India, the installed costs of PV are projected to decline by 70% by 2050. By 2050, the installed costs of Solar Tower technology are estimated to drop by about 65% in China and Spain. In U.S.A, the prices of BESS technology are likely to fall by around 58 – 60 % by 2050. In the second phase of thesis study, a techno-economic evaluation of virtual plants addressed the aspects which are to be considered for a solar project if it is deployed in future across seven specific countries. Results from this analysis helps investors or policymakers to choose the cheapest solar storage technology at a utility level across seven specific countries in future (2020 – 2050). Key results from this analysis show that, in the U.S.A, by 2050, PV+BESS will be the cheapest storage technology for 4 – 10 storage hours. Addition of another renewable technology will add up more viability to the comparison. In China, Hybrid will be the cheapest storage technology for 4 – 8 hrs by 2050. There is huge potential for deployment of CSP & hybrid plants in future than PV. In South Africa, CSP will be the cheapest storage technology by 2050 for 4 – 10 hours of storage. It is assumed that deployment of BESS projects at utility level starts from 2025 in South Africa. Beyond this, market forces analysis was carried out which offers insights especially for the policymakers of how various drivers and constraints are influencing each solar technology across the specific countries in future. Overall, the entire thesis study provides guidelines/insights to investors or policy makers for choosing the best solar storage technology in future at a utility scale for a particular country. / Förnybar energi för energiproduktion, liksom Solar, visar sig vara mycket relevant i dagens värld [1]. Det är mycket tydligt att solenergi kommer att framstå som en av de viktigaste energikällorna i framtiden. Dessutom kommer lagringsalternativet att spela en väsentlig roll för den framtida distributionen av solkraftverk. Koncentrerade solkraftverk med värmelagring, solcellsanläggningar integrerade med batterilagring och hybridanläggningar är attraktiva lösningar för att få en stabil och skickbar energiproduktion. Investerare eller beslutsfattare brukar tycka att det är utmanande att komma på den mest genomförbara solcellstekniken eftersom de måste överväga teknikekonomisk genomförbarhet, och samtidigt, ur ett marknads- eller administrativt perspektiv också. Så denna avhandlingsstudie kommer att ta itu med nyckelproblemet som riktar sig till investerare eller beslutsfattare eftersom det finns ett behov av att välja den bästa solenergilagringstekniken på en användningsnivå i framtiden baserat på så många attribut. Avhandlingsprojektet genomfördes i två faser som inkluderar prognosmodellering och uppskattningar och teknikekonomisk bedömning av virtuella anläggningar. Dessa två faser hjälpte till att ta itu med olika frågor i samband med problemstudien i denna studie. Hela avhandlingsstudien omfattade i stort sju länder som sträcker sig över fyra stora regioner runt om i världen. Den första fasen i avhandlingen, prognosmodelleringsuppskattningar visar hur de sju länderna kommer att se ut i framtiden (2020 - 2050) med avseende på installerad kapacitet och kostnader för PV-, CSP- och BESS -teknik. Några viktiga resultat från fas 1 inkluderar, i lågkostnadsuppskattningar, att Kina kommer att vara marknadsledande inom PV och CSP år 2050. I USA och Indien beräknas de installerade kostnaderna för PV minska med 70% år 2050. Av 2050 beräknas de installerade kostnaderna för Solar Tower -teknik sjunka med cirka 65% i Kina och Spanien. I USA kommer priserna på BESS -teknik sannolikt att sjunka med cirka 58 - 60 % år 2050. I den andra fasen av avhandlingsstudien behandlade en teknikekonomisk utvärdering av virtuella anläggningar de aspekter som ska övervägas för ett solprojekt om det används i framtiden i sju specifika länder. Resultaten från denna analys hjälper investerare eller beslutsfattare att välja den billigaste solenergilagringstekniken på en användningsnivå i sju specifika länder i framtiden (2020 - 2050). Viktiga resultat från denna analys visar att i USA, år 2050, kommer PV+BESS att vara den billigaste lagringstekniken på 4 - 10 lagringstimmar. Tillägg av en annan förnybar teknik kommer att öka jämförbarheten. I Kina kommer Hybrid att vara den billigaste lagringstekniken i 4-8 timmar fram till 2050. Det finns en enorm potential för distribution av CSP & hybridanläggningar i framtiden än PV. I Sydafrika kommer CSP att vara den billigaste lagringstekniken år 2050 för 4 - 10 timmars lagring. Det antas att distributionen av BESS -projekt på verktygsnivå börjar från 2025 i Sydafrika. Utöver detta genomfördes marknadskravsanalys som ger insikter speciellt för beslutsfattarna om hur olika drivkrafter och begränsningar påverkar varje solteknik i de specifika länderna i framtiden. Sammantaget ger hela avhandlingsstudien riktlinjer/insikter till investerare eller beslutsfattare för att välja den bästa solenergitekniken i framtiden i en nyttoskala för ett visst land.

A reversible solid oxide fuel cell (RSOFC) system could buffer intermittent electrical generation, e.g. wind, wave power by storing electrical energy as hydrogen and heat. RSOFC were fabricated by thermoplastic extrusion of (La₀.₈Sr₀.₂)₀.₉₅MnO[subscript(3−δ)] (LSM) ceramic support tubes, which were microstructurally stable with 55% porosity at 1350°C. A composite oxygen electrode of LSM-YSZ was applied, providing a homogeneous substrate for a 20 μm - 30 μm thick YSZ electrolyte. A dip-coated 8YSZ slurry, and a painted commercial 3YSZ ink gave sintered densities of 90% and nearly 100% at 1350°C, respectively. A porous NiO/YSZ fuel electrode was also painted on. A Ag/Cu reactive air braze was unsuccessful at forming a void-free joint between the RSOFC and a 316 stainless steel gas delivery tube, as the braze did not penetrate the oxidation layer on the steel. Two alumina-based ceramic cements failed to fully seal the cell to an alumina gas delivery tube, due to thermal expansion coefficient mismatches and porosity after curing. Therefore, the maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) obtained during RSOFC testing was 0.8 V at 440°C. LSM-YSZ symmetrical cell performance measurements with oxygen pressure showed a diffusion polarisation, which was assigned to dissociative adsorption and surface diffusion of oxygen species. A collaborative RSOFC system software model showed ohmic and activation losses dominated the RSOFC, and diffusion losses were insignificant. Pressurisation from 1 to 70 bar increased the RSOFC Nernst voltage by 11% at 900°C, and reduced the entropy of the gases, reducing heat production and increasing electrical efficiency. A 500 kg Sn/Cu phase change heat store prevented the system overheating. Over a 16 h discharge-charge RSOFC cycle in the range 5 mol.% - 95 mol.% hydrogen in steam, at 20.4 A per cell or 3250 A m⁻², the electrical energy storage efficiency was 64.4%.

Solving the key issue of sustainability of battery-powered sensors continues to attract significant research attention. The prevailing theme of this research is to address this concern using energy-efficient protocols based on a form of simple cooperative transmission (CT) called the opportunistic large arrays (OLAs), and intelligent exploitation of energy harvesting and hybrid energy storage systems (HESSs). The two key contributions of this research, namely, OLA with transmission threshold (OLA-T) and alternating OLA-T (A-OLA-T), offer an signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) advantage (i.e., benefits of diversity and array (power) gains) in a multi-path fading environment, thereby reducing transmit powers or extending range. Because these protocols do not address nodes individually, the network overhead remains constant for high density networks or nodes with mobility. During broadcasting across energy-constrained networks, while OLA-T saves energy by limiting node participation within a single broadcast, A-OLA-T optimizes over multiple broadcasts and drains the the nodes in an equitable fashion. Another important contribution of this research is the design and analysis of a novel routing metric called communications using HESS (CHESS), which extends the rechargeable battery (RB)-life by relaying exclusively with supercapacitor (SC) energy, and is asymptotically optimal with respect to the number of nodes in the network.

Next generation telecommunication satellites will demand an increasing amount of power in the range of 30 kW or more within the next 10 years. Battery technology that can sustain 30 kW for an eclipse length of up to 72 minutes will represent a major impact on the total mass of the satellite, even with new Li-ion battery technologies. Regenerative fuel cell systems (RFCS) were identified years ago as a possible alternative to rechargeable batteries. Nevertheless, one major drawback was identified by several independent system studies, namely the need to dissipate large amounts of heat from the fuel cell (FC) during eclipse. This in turn requires massive thermal hardware (mainly large radiators) that can contribute up to 50% of the system mass. In order to overcome this issue, the use of metal hydrides (MH) as combined hydrogen and heat storage system was suggested as a starting point of the research presented in this thesis. During eclipse the FC must dissipate waste heat, and at the same time the MH tank must absorb heat in order to desorb hydrogen. Rather than dissipating the waste heat from the FC directly through a radiator, it can be stored solely, or partly, in the MH tank, to be dissipated during Equinox, with a 20 times slower rate, requiring a radiator with significantly less volume and mass. This thesis aims to present the potential of using such MH storage tanks to alternately store hydrogen and waste heat from the FC on-board a spacecraft, investigated by theoretical and experimental means. The model application for the MH tank technology considered in this thesis is a 39 kW telecommunication satellite. Nevertheless, the derived results are to be considered a generic outcome and can be translated or scaled to many other applications. / Es kann davon ausgegangen werden, dass der Trend hin zu Telekommunikationssatelliten mit immer höherer Leistung in den nächsten 10 Jahren zu Satelliten-Plattformen mit 30kW und mehr führen wird. Batterien, welche eine Leistung von 30kW für Eklipse-Längen von 72 Minuten zur Verfügung stellen müssen, werden daher einen immer größeren Einfluss auf die Gesamtmasse des Satelliten haben. Regenerative Brennstoffzellensysteme wurden daher schon vor Jahren als mögliche Alternative zu wieder aufladbaren Batterien untersucht. Mehrere unabhängige Studien sind zu dem Schluss gekommen, dass die größte Problematik in der Einführung von Brennstoffzellensystemen auf Satelliten darin besteht, die relativ großen Mengen an Abwärme effizient abzustrahlen. Die Radiatoren, die hierfür benötigt werden können 50% der Masse des Gesamtsystems ausmachen. Um dieses Problem zu überwinden wurde als Startpunkt der vorliegenden Arbeit die Nutzung von Metallhydriden als kombinierter Wasserstoff- und Wärmespeicher vorgeschlagen. Während sich der Satellit im Erdschatten befindet produziert die Brennstoffzelle Abwärme, während zur gleichen Zeit der Metallhydrid-Tank Wärme benötigt um Wasserstoff freizusetzen. Die Abwärme der Brennstoffzelle muss daher nicht direkt über Radiatoren abgestrahlt werden, sondern wird von Metallhydrid-Tank absorbiert um dann während dem restlichen Erdumlauf 20 mal langsamer mit einem deutlich kleinerem und leichteren Radiator abgegeben werden zu können. Diese Arbeit hat zum Ziel, das durch analytische und experimentelle Methoden untersuchte Potential der Anwendung einer solchen Technologie auf Satelliten zu präsentieren. Die Modellapplikation für diese Arbeit ist ein 39kW Telekommunikationssatellit. Die Ergebnisse lassen sich allerdings auch auf andere Anwendungen skalieren und übertragen.

This diploma thesis deals with the underground compressed air enery storage. Thesis can be divided into several parts. The first part focuses on the theoretical analysis which decribes reason of renewable resources implementation to the electric grid and how renewable resources affect electric grid. Second part describes compression and expansion stage. Last part deals with design of storage facility which is suitable for different energy supplies. Extracted coal mines of Rosicko-Oslavany area is used as suitable underground storage.

Next generation telecommunication satellites will demand an increasing amount of power in the range of 30 kW or more within the next 10 years. Battery technology that can sustain 30 kW for an eclipse length of up to 72 minutes will represent a major impact on the total mass of the satellite, even with new Li-ion battery technologies. Regenerative fuel cell systems (RFCS) were identified years ago as a possible alternative to rechargeable batteries. Nevertheless, one major drawback was identified by several independent system studies, namely the need to dissipate large amounts of heat from the fuel cell (FC) during eclipse. This in turn requires massive thermal hardware (mainly large radiators) that can contribute up to 50% of the system mass. In order to overcome this issue, the use of metal hydrides (MH) as combined hydrogen and heat storage system was suggested as a starting point of the research presented in this thesis. During eclipse the FC must dissipate waste heat, and at the same time the MH tank must absorb heat in order to desorb hydrogen. Rather than dissipating the waste heat from the FC directly through a radiator, it can be stored solely, or partly, in the MH tank, to be dissipated during Equinox, with a 20 times slower rate, requiring a radiator with significantly less volume and mass. This thesis aims to present the potential of using such MH storage tanks to alternately store hydrogen and waste heat from the FC on-board a spacecraft, investigated by theoretical and experimental means. The model application for the MH tank technology considered in this thesis is a 39 kW telecommunication satellite. Nevertheless, the derived results are to be considered a generic outcome and can be translated or scaled to many other applications.:1 Introduction 2 The Metal Hydride Regenerative Fuel Cell System (MH-RFCS) 3 Metal Hydride Material Selection and Characterization 4 Design and Optimization of the Metal Hydride Tank System 5 Design and Manufacturing of a Technology Demonstrator 6 Simulation of the Metal Hydride Tank Performance 7 Experimental Results and Discussion 8 Outlook 9 Bibliography / Es kann davon ausgegangen werden, dass der Trend hin zu Telekommunikationssatelliten mit immer höherer Leistung in den nächsten 10 Jahren zu Satelliten-Plattformen mit 30kW und mehr führen wird. Batterien, welche eine Leistung von 30kW für Eklipse-Längen von 72 Minuten zur Verfügung stellen müssen, werden daher einen immer größeren Einfluss auf die Gesamtmasse des Satelliten haben. Regenerative Brennstoffzellensysteme wurden daher schon vor Jahren als mögliche Alternative zu wieder aufladbaren Batterien untersucht. Mehrere unabhängige Studien sind zu dem Schluss gekommen, dass die größte Problematik in der Einführung von Brennstoffzellensystemen auf Satelliten darin besteht, die relativ großen Mengen an Abwärme effizient abzustrahlen. Die Radiatoren, die hierfür benötigt werden können 50% der Masse des Gesamtsystems ausmachen. Um dieses Problem zu überwinden wurde als Startpunkt der vorliegenden Arbeit die Nutzung von Metallhydriden als kombinierter Wasserstoff- und Wärmespeicher vorgeschlagen. Während sich der Satellit im Erdschatten befindet produziert die Brennstoffzelle Abwärme, während zur gleichen Zeit der Metallhydrid-Tank Wärme benötigt um Wasserstoff freizusetzen. Die Abwärme der Brennstoffzelle muss daher nicht direkt über Radiatoren abgestrahlt werden, sondern wird von Metallhydrid-Tank absorbiert um dann während dem restlichen Erdumlauf 20 mal langsamer mit einem deutlich kleinerem und leichteren Radiator abgegeben werden zu können. Diese Arbeit hat zum Ziel, das durch analytische und experimentelle Methoden untersuchte Potential der Anwendung einer solchen Technologie auf Satelliten zu präsentieren. Die Modellapplikation für diese Arbeit ist ein 39kW Telekommunikationssatellit. Die Ergebnisse lassen sich allerdings auch auf andere Anwendungen skalieren und übertragen.:1 Introduction 2 The Metal Hydride Regenerative Fuel Cell System (MH-RFCS) 3 Metal Hydride Material Selection and Characterization 4 Design and Optimization of the Metal Hydride Tank System 5 Design and Manufacturing of a Technology Demonstrator 6 Simulation of the Metal Hydride Tank Performance 7 Experimental Results and Discussion 8 Outlook 9 Bibliography

The energy system is undergoing a transformation on a never before witnessed scale. The changes are driven by global market forces and technological advancements, improving on a seemingly exponential scale. This in turn has led to the price of both renewables and the accompanying technology decrease over time, making the transition into renewables more economically viable. The drawback of variable renewable energy is that it is variable and dependent on the surrounding environment. Therefore, storing the energy during hours of production, to be used at a later stage when energy demand is higher is becoming ever more important and an attractive option. The purpose of this degree project is to, from a set of performance indicators, evaluate three different energy storage technologies and their respective impact on a distribution grid. The examined storage technologies are: Batteries, Capacitators and a H2 Fuel cell. A literature study was performed in order to find out how grid performance is evaluated, and how the different storage technologies operate. The obtained literature comes from scientific reports, and papers, found by utilizing Mälardalens University library-database. A model representing a Swedish grid with a connection point to the distribution side was created. The model is taken from previous credited work, and customized to fit the operational parameters of a Swedish grid. It was decided that the key indicators for evaluating the state of a grid was to look at the: voltage- and frequency variations, load factor, capacity factor and the overall system efficiency. The simulation is a discrete time simulation that utilizes parameters indicative of one full day of data. The results showed that, from a technological standpoint, the supercapacitor performed better in more categories than the Li-ion battery and H2 fuel cell. However, the Li-ion battery reduced the peaks of the frequency measurements which is a key metric when deciding on grid health. Also, there is the added benefit of the battery and fuel cell of having a longer operational time before the state of charge is depleted. This increases the flexibility of the technology and could therefore be more beneficial in other applications where power supply is more scarce.

The global energy system is under transformation. The energy transition from a centralized, fossil fuel based energy system to a more decentralized, renewable energy based system will challenge the balancing of electricity supply and demand. This stresses the importance of grid flexibility. In this challenge, energy storage will play a valuable role as it can provide flexibility and support the renewable energy integration. More specifically, lithium-ion battery energy storage systems (Li-ion BESS) demonstrate technological advantages and valuable application possibilities in the electricity grid. This thesis examines opportunities and barriers for deployment of grid-scale Li-ion BESS in the Swedish electricity market, and provides an overview of different perspectives of possibilities with BESS from several market actors. The purpose of the exploratory study is to gain an understanding of prospects for grid-scale BESS in Sweden. Through a comprehensive literature study and an empirical study, based on fourteen interviews with various actors in the electricity market, data was collected and analyzed. The analysis of the empirical findings resulted in two tables summarizing opportunities and barriers for implementation of BESS in Sweden. The opportunities and barriers are categorized into three hierarchical levels; contextual level, power system level and BESS level, referring to where in the system the benefits or hinders are localized. Also, key discussion points related to BESS (such as storage time perspective, ownership, grid services, cost, price signals and knowledge gap) are explored and evaluated. Furthermore, to understand the possibilities for grid-scale BESS in Sweden, a potential business setup for BESS is assessed and analyzed to identify preconditions for BESS to be attractive on the Swedish electricity market. The findings of the thesis indicate that grid flexibility is most likely going to be a considerable issue within 10-20 years. By the time of the potential nuclear phase out in Sweden, there will be major instabilities in the electricity grid if solutions are not in place. Therefore, keys to grid flexibility need to be evaluated and planned for well in advance, and the findings indicate that BESS could be a possible part of the solution. Until now, the regulatory framework has been perceived as rather unclear when it comes to energy storage, which has led to uncertainties among the market actors. These unclarities are about to be clarified with new laws and regulations, which will enable potential businesses for BESS. With the changes in the regulatory framework in place, we see an opportunity with new actors on the market. Our analysis shows that the BESS owner will most likely be a commercial actor, to enable utilization of a BESS for combined applications. An important factor, affecting the possibilities of implementing BESS on the Swedish electricity market, is the cost of BESS. We consider the cost aspect as vital for the likelihood of deploying BESS in Sweden. Based on our main findings, we conclude several preconditions for the deployment of BESS in Sweden. These are; decreased costs of BESS, acceptance from market actors, increased knowledge, a trading platform for grid services provided by a BESS, coordination between markets and electricity load forecasts. We believe that if these preconditions are fulfilled, Li-ion BESS has a chance to affect and have an impact on the Swedish electricity market. / Dagens energisystem är under förändring. Det sker en omvandling där energisystemet går från att vara centraliserat och fossilbaserat till att bli mer decentraliserat och baserat på förnybar energi. Detta kommer att utmana balanseringen av elproduktion och elkonsumtion, vilket betonar vikten av flexibilitet i elnätet. I den stundande utmaningen kommer energilagring att spela en viktig roll eftersom det kan bidra med flexibilitet och samtidigt stödja integrationen av mer förnybar elproduktion. Mer specifikt har energilagersystem med litiumjon-batterier flertalet tekniska fördelar och värdefulla användningsområden i elnätet. Det här examensarbetet utforskar möjligheter och hinder för en framtida implementering av nätanslutna litiumjonbatterilager på den svenska elmarknaden och ger en överblick över perspektiv på utsikter för batterilager från flertalet marknadsaktörer. Syftet med den utforskande studien är att få en ökad förståelse för framtidsutsikterna för storskaliga batterilager i Sverige. Genom en omfattande litteraturstudie och en empirisk studie, baserad på fjorton intervjuer med olika aktörer på elmarknaden, samlades data in och analyserades. Analysen av de empiriska resultaten resulterade i två tabeller som sammanfattar möjligheter och hinder för implementering av batterilager i Sverige. Möjligheterna och hindren kategoriseras i tre hierarkiska nivåer; kontextuell nivå, kraftsystemnivå och batterilagersystemnivå, med hänvisning till var i systemet fördelarna eller barriärerna är lokaliserade. Dessutom utvärderas flera betydande diskussionsteman relaterade till batterilager (såsom lagringstid, ägande, nättjänster, kostnad, prissignaler och kunskapsluckor). För att förstå möjligheterna för att etablera batterilager i Sverige har en möjlig affärsuppställning utvärderats och analyserats. Detta för att identifiera förutsättningar för att batterilager ska vara attraktivt på den svenska elmarknaden. Examensarbetets resultat tyder på att nätflexibilitet sannolikt kommer att bli ett betydande problem inom 10-20 år. Den troliga avvecklingen av den svenska kärnkraften kommer att resultera i instabilitet i elnätet om inte lösningar finns på plats. Därför behöver lösningar för att uppnå flexibilitet i elnätet utvärderas och planeras i god tid och uppsatsens resultat visar på att batterilager kan vara en möjlig del av lösningen. Fram till nu har det funnits oklarheter i regelverket gällande energilagring, vilket har lett till osäkerheter hos marknadsaktörerna. Nya lagar och förordningar kommer att klargöra flertalet osäkerheter och möjliggöra potentiella affärer med batterilager. När det förändrade regelverket är på plats, ser vi potential för nya aktörer på marknaden. Vår analys visar på att batterilager med största sannolikhet kommer att ägas av kommersiella aktörer för att möjliggöra kombinerade användningsområden av batterilager. Möjligheterna till implementering av batterilager på den svenska elmarknaden påverkas i hög grad av kostnaden för batterilager. Vi anser att kostnadsaspekten är avgörande för sannolikheten att utnyttja batterilager i Sverige. Vår slutsats är att det finns flertalet förutsättningar för att batterilager ska bli attraktivt och lönsamt i Sverige. Dessa är; minskade kostnader för batterilager, acceptans från marknadsaktörer, ökad kunskap, en handelsplattform för nättjänster som tillhandahålls av batterilager, samordning mellan marknader samt lastprognoser. Om dessa förutsättningar uppnås anser vi att litiumjon-batterilager har en chans att påverka den svenska elmarknaden.

One of the key challenges the world will need to face during the 21st century is global warming and the consequent climate change. Its presence is indisputable, and decarbonizing the gird emerges as one of the required pathways to achieve global sustainable objectives. Solar energy power plants have the potential to revert this situation and solve the problem. One way to harness this energy is through Concentrated Solar Power plants. The major advantage and potential of this technology is its ability to integrate cost-effective Thermal Energy Storage (TES), which is key with such an inherently intermittent resource. On the other hand, the drawback is the high current Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). The other main way to harness that highlighted solar energy is the use of Photovoltaic panels, which have recently achieved very competitive LCOE values. On the other hand, the storage integration is still a very pricey option, normally done with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). As a conclusion, a hybrid power plant combining the LCOE of the PV and the TES of the CSP emerges as the key way of achieving a very competitive solution with a big potential. This master thesis aims at exploring the possibilities of a hybrid CSP and PV power plant with a sCO2 power cycle, integrated in the primary, secondary and tertiary electricity markets. To achieve this purpose, firstly, a Python-based Energy Dispatcher was developed to control the hybrid power plant. Indeed, the Dispatcher is the tool that decides when to produce, when to store… following an optimization problem. This can be formulated mathematically, and that was done and integrated into the Python code using Pyomo, a software for optimization problems. As a result, the Dispatcher achieved an effective control of the plant, showing intelligent decisions in detailed hourly analyses. The results were very promising and included optimization functions as maximizing the profitability of the plant or the total production, among others. To proceed with the Techno-economic assessment of the hybrid plant, the electricity markets were studied. The main source of income of any power plant is normally the revenue from selling electricity to the grid, but since there are several markets, there are also other possibilities. In this thesis, it was assessed from a Techno-Economic perspective how the performance and optimal design of the plants vary when providing different services extra to selling electricity to the grid. The conclusion was that even though the Net Present Value (NPV) achieved working on the spot market was already very high, the extra value added from participating in the secondary or tertiary markets was indisputable. Indeed, the profits attained in those markets were between two and four times higher than the ones of the spot market. This is a specific case, but a trend was identified: these hybrid power plants have a huge possibility and a bright future on the service markets. As a consequence, this thesis shows the huge potential of hybrid power plants integrated in the grid participating in several markets. It also lays the foundation for future studies in other locations, under different conditions and with different technologies, among others.

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