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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2024

Thermophotovoltaics for solar/power-to-heat-to-power energy conversion

Rodolphe Vaillon

Résumé

Based on the photovoltaic effect to produce electricity from thermal radiation, thermophotovoltaics (TPV) has recently benefited from strong advances and new opportunities. This new momentum is linked to the development of solar-to-heat-to-power (usually called Solar TPV) converters and more recently of power-to-heat-to-power converters. In both cases, a key point is that energy can be efficiently stored under the form of heat, thus allowing to alleviate the intermittency of solar and wind power generation. The storage of latent or sensible heat at ultra-high temperature (> 1000 °C), at high density and low cost [1], is the backbone of the advent of the so-called TPV "batteries" [2]. To start with, the presentation will provide the basic principles of thermophotovoltaics [3, 4]. The differences of TPV conversion with respect to solar PV conversion will be described, by highlighting some advantages (tuning of the spectrum of the thermal radiation emitter, photon recycling toward the emitter, increased power density) and some drawbacks (primary energy conversion and heat losses). Then the most promising applications envisioned as part of the transition to carbon-free renewable electricity generation will be introduced. It will be explained how the concomitant development of low-cost thermal energy storage [1] and highly-efficient (> 40%) thermophotovoltaic cells [5] is currently accelerating research on power-to-heat-to-power and solar-to-heat-to-power TPV batteries. Then, an analysis of the state-of-the-art of TPV systems developed and characterized in the laboratory will be proposed. In particular, it will be shown that there is a relation between optimum operating temperature of the thermal radiation emitter and bandgap of the photovoltaic cell [6]. Advanced concepts, research avenues and associated challenges will be briefly presented. The talk will conclude with an introduction to the TREE (thermal radiation to electrical energy conversion) project-team [7], supported by the “CNRS Ingénierie” institute, which brings together 20 French academic laboratories to advance collaborative research on this subject. [1]A. Datas, Ultra high temperature thermal energy storage for dispatchable power generation, Encyclopedia of Energy Storage 2, 141-150, 2022. [2] A. Datas et al., Latent heat thermophotovoltaic batteries, Joule 6, 418-443, 2022. [3]T. Burger et al., Present efficiencies and future opportunities in thermophotovoltaics, Joule 4, 1660-1680, 2020. [4] A. Datas & R. Vaillon, Thermophotovoltaic energy conversion, Chapter 11 in: Ultra-High Temperature Thermal Energy Storage, Transfer and Conversion, Woodhead Publishing, 285-308, 2021. [5]A. LaPotin et al., Thermophotovoltaic efficiency of 40%, Nature 604.7905, 287-291, 2022. [6] B. Roux et al., Main performance metrics of thermophotovoltaic devices: analyzing the state of the art, J. Photonics for Energy 14, 042403, 2024. [7]Project-team TREE: https://tree.ies.umontpellier.fr. Last access on 04/19/2024.
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Dates et versions

hal-04630601 , version 1 (01-07-2024)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04630601 , version 1

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Rodolphe Vaillon. Thermophotovoltaics for solar/power-to-heat-to-power energy conversion. Journées Nationales de l'Energie Solaire, Jun 2024, Anglet, France. ⟨hal-04630601⟩
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