Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage for hybrid energy storage

Electrochemical batteries usually have large energy densities, but their power density, life cycle and response speed are very limited. On the other hand, Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) systems have large power densities, large duty cycles and fast response speeds. In addition, they have advantages such as high round-trip efficiencies and solid-state operation. An ideal energy storage system can thus be achieved by integrating fast-responding SMES of high power densities with electrochemical batteries of high energy densities.

This project aims to develop a hybrid storage system including both batteries and SMES. A design methodology will be developed to balance the power between batteries and SMES. Then a prototype SMES will be developed to integrated with batteries. The prototype will be characterised and tested in Bath’s microgrid lab to validate the proposed technology.