Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/solmat

Review

Energy storage: Applications and challenges

T. Kousksou a,n, P. Bruel b, A. Jamil c, T. El Rhafiki d, Y. Zeraouli a
a
Laboratoire des Sciences de l′Ingénieur Appliquées à la Mécanique et au Génie Electrique (SIAME), Université de Pau et des Pays de l′Adour – IFR – A. Jules
Ferry, Pau 64000, France
b
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire de Mathématiques et de leurs Applications, IPRA, BP 1155, Pau 64000, France
c
École Supérieure de Technologie de Fès, Université Sidi Mohamed Ibn Abdelah Route d′Imouzzer BP 2427, Morocco
d
Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers, ENSAM Marjane II, BP - 4024 Meknès Ismailia, Morocco

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this paper, an updated review of the state of technology and installations of several energy storage
Received 6 May 2013 technologies were presented, and their various characteristics were analyzed. The analyses included their
Accepted 13 August 2013 storage properties, current state in the industry and feasibility for future installation. The paper includes
also the main characteristics of energy storage technologies suitable for renewable energy systems.
Keywords: & 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Progress
Energy storage technologies
Renewable energy

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Thermal energy storage (TES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1. Sensible heat storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.1. Liquid media storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.2. Solid media storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2. Latent storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2.1. Organic PCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2.2. Inorganic PCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2.3. Eutectic PCM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.4. Commercial PCMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3. Thermochemical energy storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3.1. Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3.2. Storing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3.3. Discharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3. Electrical energy storage systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.1. Pumped hydro storage (PHS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.2. Compressed air energy storage (CAES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.3. Flywheel energy storage (FES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.4. Battery energy storage system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.4.1. Lead–acid battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.4.2. Nickel-based battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.4.3. Sodium–sulfur battery (NaS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.4.4. Lithium-based battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.5. Hydrogen based energy storage (HES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.6. Flow battery energy storage (FBES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.7. Capacitor and supercapacitor energy storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.8. Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

n
Corresponding author. Tel./fax: þ 33 629668430.
E-mail address: tarik.kousksou@univ-pau.fr (T. Kousksou).

0927-0248/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015

Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
2 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

4. Techno-economic evaluations of energy storage systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

5. Energy storage utility for renewable energy sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5.1. Power quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.2. Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.3. Load shifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
6. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

1. Introduction
Energy continues to be a key element to the worldwide
development. Due to the oil price volatility, depletion of fossil
fuel resources, global warming and local pollution, geopolitical
tensions and growth in energy demand, alternative energies,
renewable energies and effective use of fossil fuels have become
much more important than at any time in history [1,2]. Current
and future markets in fossil fuels are subject to volatile price
changes in oil and natural gas. National and international energy/
environmental crises and conflicts are combining to motivate a
dramatic paradigm shift from fossil fuels to reliable, clean and
efficient fuels. Using renewable energy sources seems a promising
option; however, there are still some serious concerns about some
renewable energy sources and their implementation, e.g. (i) capital
cost and (ii) their intermittent nature in power production [3–6].
Renewable energy resources such as wind and solar energies
cannot produce power steadily, since their power production rates
change with seasons, months, days, hours, etc. The cost issues
depend mainly on how research and development can be success-
fully carried out in these areas. Extensive public and private
researches and development efforts to achieve technological
breakthroughs are required to bring these technologies to com-
mercial maturity. Therefore, in order for the renewable energy
resources to become completely reliable as primary sources of
energy, energy storage is a crucial factor [7,8]. Essentially, energy
from these renewable resources must be stored when an excess is
produced and then released. There are other reasons why it is
necessary to store energy [5–8]. Storing energy allows
– to meet short-term, random fluctuations in demand and so
avoid the need for frequency regulation by the main plant. It
can also provide ‘ride through’ for momentary power outages,
reduce harmonic distortions, and eliminate voltage sags and
surges;
– to eliminate the need for part-loaded main plant which is held
in readiness to meet sudden and unpredicted demands, as well
as power emergencies which arise from the failure of generat-
ing units and/or transmission lines;
– to accommodate the minute–hour peaks in the daily
demand curve;
– to store the surplus electricity generated overnight (i.e. during
off-peak hours) to meet increased demand during the day;
– to store the electricity generated by renewables so as to match
the fluctuating supply to the changing demand.
Through such applications, it is also considered that energy
storage can be multi-beneficial to both utilities and their custo-
mers in terms of (i) improved efficiency of operation of a system;
(ii) reduced primary fuel use by energy conservation; (iii) provided
security of energy supply; (iv) decreased environmental impact.
Energy storage in a power system can be defined as any
installation or method, usually subject to independent control,
with the help of which it is possible to store energy generated in
the power system, keep it stored and use it in the power system
when necessary [9–13]. According to this definition, energy
storage may be used in the power system in three different
regimes: charge, store and discharge. In each of these three
regimes a balance between power and energy in the power system
has to be maintained so the energy storage has to have the
appropriate rated power and energy capacity. The duration of
each regime, its switching time and storage efficiency are subject
to power system requirements. Before installing any device in a
power system, we will define the power system requirements for
energy storage as a margin for its rated power and energy capacity,
its efficiency, switching time and duration of its regimes. It is clear
that these margins – power systems requirements – are subject to
the function performed by energy storage in a power system.
Different energy storage technologies coexist because their
characteristics make them attractive to different applications. In
general, energy storage systems can be described as either
electrical or thermal [14–19]. Electrical energy storage includes a
broad range of technologies, which either directly or indirectly
provide electrical energy storage via an electrical input and output.
The principal technologies are
– electrochemical systems (embracing batteries and flow cells);
– kinetic energy storage systems, more commonly referred to as
flywheel energy storage;
– potential energy storage in the form of either pumped hydro or
compressed air storage.
In contrast, thermal energy storage systems utilize either the
thermochemical reactions, sensible or latent heat capacity of
materials to provide a heating or cooling resource, which can be
replenished as required.
In this work, we present an overview of the most important
energy storage technologies available or under development
today. Among other aspects, the operating principles, and the
most relevant characteristics of each technology are detailed. This
paper also includes discussions on important criteria of energy
storage technologies suitable for renewable energy applications.
2. Thermal energy storage (TES)
Thermal energy storage (TES) is widely recognized as a means
to integrate renewable energies into the electricity production mix
on the generation side, but its applicability to the demand side is
also possible [20,21]. In recent decades, TES systems have demon-
strated a capability to shift electrical loads from high-peak to off-
peak hours, so they have the potential to become a powerful
instrument in demand-side management programs. Thermal sto-
rage is a technology that ensures energy security, efficiency and
environmental quality.
The thermal energy storage (TES) can also be defined as the
temporary storage of thermal energy at high or low temperatures.
TES systems have the potential of increasing the effective use of
thermal energy equipment and of facilitating large-scale switch-
ing. They are normally useful for correcting the mismatch between

Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
supply and demand energy [10]. Certainly, TES is of particular
interest and significance in using this essential technique for solar
thermal applications such as heating, hot water, cooling, air-
conditioning, etc., because of its intermittent nature. In these
applications, a TES system must be able to retain the energy
absorbed for at least a few days in order to supply the energy
needed on cloudy days when the energy input is low [22,23].
The basic principle of a TES system is the same for all the
applications: energy is supplied to the TES (charging), it is stored
(storing) and then it is removed from the TES for a later use
(discharging) [24,25]. In practical systems, some of the steps may
occur simultaneously, and each step can happen more than once
in each storage cycle [22,23].
Different criteria lead to various categories of thermal energy
storage technologies. If the criterion is based on the temperature
level of stored thermal energy, the thermal storage solutions can
be divided into “low temperature thermal energy storage (LTTES)”
and “high temperature thermal energy storage (HTTES)” [22,23].
LTTES operates in a temperature range below 200 1C and has been
extensively investigated and developed. LTTES applications can be
found in building heating and cooling [26], in solar cooking, in
solar water boilers and air-heating systems, and in solar green-
houses [27,28]. HTTES plays a vital role in renewable energy
technologies and waste heat recovery. There is a wide range of
industrial applications where waste heat can be recovered, as in
the manufacturing of construction materials mining and in the
metallurgical industry in general [29,30]. Today, most HTTES
usages are however focused upon applications of solar thermal
energy [31–33]. If the criterion is based on the time length of
stored thermal heat, it can be divided into “short term” and “long
term”; if based on the state of energy storage material, it can be
divided into “sensible heat storage”, “latent heat storage” and
“thermochemical heat storage” [34].
2.1. Sensible heat storage
In sensible TES, energy is stored by changing the temperature
of the storage means. The amount of heat stored is proportional to
the density, specific heat, volume and variation of temperature of
the storage material. The performance of a storage system depends
mainly on density and specific heat of the substance used, that
affect the necessary volume [31]. Two disadvantages are inherent
in most sensible storage systems. These are the large size usually
required and the temperature swing created from the sensible
addition and extraction of energy [30,31]. If a large temperature
swing is permitted, the storage size correspondingly decreases.
However, compared with other methods of storage, the size will
still be high. The size can also be decreased by using storage
materials which have a large thermal capacity. A large storage size,
besides occupying a large space and causing increased cost, also
causes large thermal losses [35,36]. It is recommended [10] to
design such systems with geometries resulting in low surface over
volume ratios in order to reduce relative heat losses. Another
important parameter in sensible TES is the rate at which that heat
can be released and extracted. This characteristic is a function of
the thermal diffusivity [37].
Generally, sensible storage systems consist of a storage med-
ium, a container (commonly tank) and inlet/outlet devices. Tanks
must both retain the storage material and prevent losses of
thermal energy. The existence of a thermal gradient across storage
tank is desirable. Sensible heat storage can be made by liquid
media (like water, oil based fluids, molten salts, etc.) or solid media
(like rocks, metals and others). Solid media are usually used in
packed beds, requiring a fluid to exchange heat. Packed beds favor
thermal stratification, which has advantages [38,39]. When a fluid
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
3
is a liquid, heat capacity of the solid in the packed bed is not
negligible, and the system is called the dual storage system.
2.1.1. Liquid media storage
Water is one of the best storage liquid media for a low
temperature range [40,41]. It has higher specific heat than other
materials, and it is cheap and widely available. However, water is
corrosive to some materials and the lifetime of water stores is only
about 10 years. Water can be used as storage and as a transport
medium of energy, for example, in a solar energy system. The most
common use of water tanks in Europe is in connection with solar
collectors for production of warm water for space heating and/or
tap water. The main application is in smaller plants for single-
family houses but there are some examples of large water tanks
used for seasonal storage and also used as buffer storage (inter-
mediate tank). Due to the large volume necessary for seasonal
purposes, water storage tanks are in most cases in the ground or
placed close to the surface. Installations used for tap water
production will usually need an auxiliary heat source, for instance
gas, biomass or electricity. Considering the low storage tempera-
ture for the seasonal thermal storage, heat pumps are usually used
to assist supplying the heating or cooling demand [42]. The sizing
of the storage tank is a major problem [43]. There are many factors
which affect the economical and operational size of the storage
tank for a certain solar system [10]. These factors include (i) the
purpose of the solar energy system (load), (ii) the area of the
collector, (iii) the meteorological conditions at the location, and
(iv) the operational characteristics of the system. The economy of
the system is governed by the percentage cost and by the fraction
of the total operational energy used by the solar collectors to
provide the load.
All the water storage tanks have certain degrees of stratification
[42,43], depending on the size, volume, geometries, water flow
rates, and circulation conditions of the storage system. It has been
shown that temperature stratification in a thermal energy storage
(TES) of a solar heating system may considerably increase system
performance. Thermal stratification in water storage tanks can be
established due to the buoyancy forces, which ensure the highest
temperature at the top and the lowest temperature at the bottom
of the tank. Stratification is achieved through the elimination of
mixing during storage, whereby a two-fold advantage is gained
[42,43]:
– the efficiency with which the energy can be used will be improved
if it is supplied to the load at the temperature it was collected
rather than at a lower mixed storage temperature;
– the amount of energy collected may be increased if the
collector inlet fluid temperature is lower than the mixed
storage temperature.
Large water tanks require the development of technologies capable
of guaranteeing water tightness, to minimize heat losses caused by
steam diffusion through the walls and to optimize stratification within
the tank; in order to preserve the thermal performance and lifetime of
the solar heating plant [10]. These approaches must be coupled with
low investment, at least lower than conventional heating and cooling
systems. As some authors suggest [10], the specific storage costs are
related to water equivalent storage volume. The water equivalent is
the corresponding water volume to store the same amount of heat.
Experiences carried out in demonstrations plants have achieved cost
reduction by increasing the storage volume in large scale solar
applications. Generally, the specific hot-water storage costs in large
tanks are rather high. To avoid an expensive water tank construction,
gravel–water heat storage seems to reduce costs because no structural
frame is necessary; however, due to the lower heat capacity of gravel–
4 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
water mixture, the storage volume of gravel–water required between
1.3 and 2 m3 per 1 m3 of water equivalent. Both water tanks and
gravel–water storage systems do not require previous geological
research and leave the natural aquifers untouched since they are
expected to be placed close to the surface at some depth, less than the
depth required for the rest of underground thermal energy storage
systems with values up to 30 m [10].
For large scale storage applications, underground natural aqui-
fers have been considered. Aquifers are geological formations
containing water, offering a potential way of storing heat for long
periods of time (seasonal storage) [44]. The storage medium in
aquifers consists of water saturated gravel or sand. This type of
storage is well suited for seasonal storage, i.e. transferring heat
from the summer season to the heating season. Because of its bulk
nature, aquifer storage is not feasible for small loads, e.g. indivi-
dual houses. The usefulness of aquifer thermal energy storage has
been widely acknowledged, and several experimental and theore-
tical studies on them have been performed [45]. Dincer and Rosen
[10] provide more complete reviews of aquifer storage systems.
The attractiveness of aquifer storage is due to its low cost
characteristics, its high input/output rates and its large capacity.
Which of the technologies described above is selected depends
very much on the local hydro-geological site conditions. Natural
aquifers are costs effective seasonal storage concepts but require,
among other things, water-saturated sand layers with high perme-
ability without ground water movement. Water tank and gravel
water storage systems seem to be a viable option when environ-
mental restrictions about natural ground involved or unfavorable
hydro-geological and geochemical conditions are available on site,
which involve problems as clogging of the wells, scaling of the
external heat exchangers, necessity of water treatments, high heat
losses.
Surface water (ponds or lakes) can also be used to collect and store
solar heat [46–48]. During the 1970s a global interest was noticed on
solar ponds considering them as an alternative source of energy that
could be utilized in many practical applications such as electrical
generation, green house heating source, space and water heating as
well as desalination. Solar ponds contain salt solutions. The salinity
gradient results in higher salt concentration at the bottom of the pond,
so heat absorbed at the bottom remains trapped there. In other words,
the salinity gradient inhibits natural convection and the cooler water
at the surface acts as an insulator. Darkening the bottom of the pond
also results in more solar radiation being absorbed. There have been
considerable theoretical and experimental studies on solar ponds to
gain a better understanding of the mechanism of their operation and
applications, e.g. Refs. [49–61]. Solar ponds can be classified according
to four basic factors: (a) convecting or non-convecting, (b) partitioned
(multi-layered) or non-partitioned, (c) gelled or non-gelled and
(d) separate collector and storage or in-pond storage. However most
of research efforts are presently concentrated on the non-convecting
salt gradient solar pond [59–61]. According to Dincer and Rosen [10],
salt-gradient solar ponds may be economically attractive in climates
with little snow and in areas where land is readily available.
In the intermediate and high temperature ranges, many fluids
may be considered for sensible storage depending on the design
storage temperature. The fluids may be pressurized or unpressur-
ized. Water at high pressures, up to about 140 bar (temperatures
up to 300 1C), can be stored in large or small vessels. Unpressur-
ized organic liquids may also be used for the intermediate
temperature range. Molten salts, oil and liquid metals are candi-
date sensible storage materials for the high temperature range.
Molten salts are widely used in power tower systems [62–64],
being liquid at ambient pressure, providing an efficient and
low cost medium, having their operating temperature with
current high pressure and high temperature turbines, whilst being
non-flammable and non-toxic. These molten salts are already used
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
in the chemical and metallurgical industries as heat transport
fluid, hence providing experience and knowledge for their use in
other fields than solar plants [65].
2.1.2. Solid media storage
Solid materials like rocks and metals can be used to store
thermal energy at low or high temperatures since these materials
will not freeze or boil [23]. The difficulties of the high vapor
pressure of water and the limitations of other liquids can be
avoided by storing thermal energy as sensible heat in solids.
However, there are some problems to be faced when energy is
stored in solids. The heat transport fluid transfers energy to the
solid which contains it. If this process occurs while the fluid is
passing through pipes, the material of the pipes should be the
same as that of the storage medium. Otherwise, separation might
occur as a result of different expansion coefficients for the pipe
and storage materials. The separation leads to poor heat transfer
characteristics. A solution to this problem would be the use of
direct contact between the fluid and the storage medium. Blocks
or plates made of different solid materials can also be used for
sensible storage of heat. For example, graphite [66] and concrete
[67,68] storage systems have been built. Pellets or balls of iron and
iron oxide can be used to store the thermal energy at high
temperature for generation of electricity. These mediums are
generally more expensive than soil and rocks. Concrete, present
in the structure of a building or added in the form of slabs, is also
commonly used for short term sensible storage [67] of low
temperature heat for space heating applications.
2.2. Latent storage
In the latent storage systems, during the energy storage
process, the thermal medium changes phase, it is so called phase
change material [69–71]. The latent heat is generally much higher
than sensible heat for a given substance so that smaller storage
volumes are required and the temperature variation during
operation is restrained because the phase change occurs at nearly
constant temperatures [10]. Based on phase change state, PCMs
can be solid–solid PCMs, solid–liquid PCMs or liquid–gas PCMs.
The solid–liquid phase change is the most suitable for the
applications considered. However, practical difficulties usually
arise in applying the latent heat method due to the density change,
stability of properties under extended cycling and sometimes
phase segregation and supercooling [69] of the phase change
materials. Another problem of latent thermal energy storage is the
low thermal conductivity of the phase change materials, which
limits the power that can be extracted from the energy storage
system [72]. To improve the thermal conductivity of some paraf-
fins, metallic fillers, metal matrix structures, finned tubes and
aluminum shavings were used [72,73]. The finned tubes with
different configurations have been tested by Morcos [73], Sada-
suke and Naokatsu [74], Costa et al. [75] and Padmanabhan and
Murthy [76]. The thin aluminum plates filled with PCM have been
studied by Bauer and Wirtz [77]. The PCM embedded in a metal
matrix structure has been reported by Kamimoto et al. [78]. The
PCM embedded inside a graphite matrix to increase the thermal
heat conductivity in the PCM without much reduction in energy
storage has been investigated by several researchers [79–81].
Similar with the sensible seasonal storage technologies, latent
thermal energy can also be utilized for long term seasonal storage.
The most traditional and historical phase change material utilized in
the seasonal storage is H2O, whose liquid form is commonly-known as
water while the solid form is ice or snow. A recent successful
application of snow/ice seasonal storage has been implemented in
 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
Sundsvall hospital in Sweden which has been researched by Skogsberg
and Nordell [82].
Actually, over the last 25 years, more than 190 reviews articles
have been published, considering a variety of literature related
with PCMs. Readers are referred to the excellent reference books
by Lane [83], Dincer and Rosen [10] and Mehling and Cabeza [34]
on the topic to have a better view on the studies existing in the
literature. Also, some of the review articles may be mentioned as
follows: Abhat [84] and Hasnain [22] presented reviews on
sustainable thermal energy storage technologies in terms of heat
storage materials and techniques; Zalba et al. [85] presented a
review of the history of thermal energy storage with solid–liquid
phase change focusing on three aspects; materials, heat transfer
and applications; Farid et al. [86] presented a review on the recent
efforts to develop new PCMs and focused his review on PCM
encapsulation and their applications in storage systems; Sharma
and Sagara [87] presented a detailed review on PCMs and latent
storage systems. Recently, Sarier and Onder [72] presented a
review of the potential industrial applications of PCMs in textiles
and clothing systems. These reviews provided also aid for further
development of PCMs in industrial applications.
The main criteria that govern the selection of phase change
heat storage materials are [84,88]
– Possess a melting point in the desired operating temperature
range (temperature range of application).
– Possess high latent heat of fusion per unit mass, so that a
smaller amount of material stores a given amount of energy.
– High specific heat to provide additional significant sensible
heat storage effects.
– High thermal conductivity, so that the temperature gradients
for charging and discharging the storage material are small.
– Small volume changes during phase transition, so that a simple
container and heat exchanger geometry can be used.
– Exhibit little or no supercooling during freezing.
– Possess chemical stability, no chemical decomposition and
corrosion resistance to construction materials.
– Contain non-poisonous, non-flammable and non-explosive
elements/compounds.
– Available in large quantities at low cost.
Comprehensive list of the most possible candidates as PCMs
have been reported in the literature by Lane et al. [88], Lorsch et al.
[89], Abhat [84], Humphries and Griggs [90], Farid et al. [86], Zalba
et al. [85], Sarier and Onder [72], Fernandes et al. [20], Regin et al.
[91], Sharma et al. [26], Agyenim et al. [92], Jegadheeswaran et al.
[93], Oró et al. [94], Cabeza et al. [95] and Kurklu [96]. Currently,
there are mainly three types of PCMs existing in the solid–liquid
category: organic-PCM, inorganic-PCM and eutectic-PCM.
2.2.1. Organic PCM
Organic PCM can be arranged in two groups: paraffin PCM and
non-paraffin PCM. They embrace congruent melting, self-nucleation
and usually non-corrosiveness. One of the most important groups of
organic PCMs is paraffin wax. It consists of a mixture of mostly
straight-chain n-alkanes (CH3-(CH2)n-CH3) with the following proper-
ties [97–99]: safe, chemically inert, reliable, stable below 500 1C,
predictable, less expensive, non-corrosive, little volume changes dur-
ing the melting process and low vapor pressure in the melt form. For
these reasons, system using paraffin usually has very long freeze–melt
cycle. Low thermal conductivity, non-compatibility with the plastic
container and flammability are some undesirable properties of
paraffin wax.
Non-paraffin PCM can be further categorized into fatty acids
(CH3(CH2)2nCOOH) and other non-paraffin PCM (such as esters and
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
5
glycols) [26,72]. Non-paraffin organic PCM has a large number of
varieties with diverse characteristics rather than the regular features
as paraffins. Although non-paraffin PCMs are versatile and very
variable between each other, they still have some common features.
Their advantages include
 high latent heat storage capacity during the phase change
process;
 no or limited supercooling for fatty acids;
 long term chemical stability for fatty acids under proper
temperatures (repeated phase change processes without phase
segregation or property degradation) [26].
Whereas the shortages include [26]
 low thermal conductivity;
 flammability;
 possible toxicity with respect to certain non-paraffin PCM;
 instability at high temperatures;
 fatty acids are mild corrosive;
 the fatty acids are still expensive, thus not very cost effective.
2.2.2. Inorganic PCM
Inorganic phase change materials include salt hydrates, salts,
metals and alloys. A number of salt hydrates such as sodium sulfate
decahydrate (Glauber's salt), calcium chloride hexahydrate, sodium
thiosulfate pentahydrate, sodium acetate trihydrate and bariumhydr-
oxide octahydrate, were investigated largely because of their low cost
[26,85]. The main advantages of inorganic compounds are a high
volumetric latent heat storage capacity, often twice the capacity of
organic compounds and high thermal conductivity.
Salt hydrates may be regarded as alloys of inorganic salts and water
forming a typical crystalline solid of general formula AB  nH2O (“AB”
represents some inorganic salt).The solid–liquid transformation of salt
hydrates is actually a dehydration of hydration of the salt, although
this process resembles melting or freezing thermodynamically. A salt
hydrate usually melts either to a salt hydrate with fewer moles of
water, i.e.
AB UnH2 O-AB UmH2 O þ ðnmÞH2 O
or to its anhydrous from
AB UnH2 O-AB þ nH2 O
Although hydrated salts cannot be denoted by a general formula, they
have some common merits:
 High latent heat of fusion per unit volume during the phase
change process [26].
 Relatively high thermal conductivity. Generally speaking, the
thermal conductivity of hydrated salts can be as much as two
times of paraffins [26].
 Limited corrosive and compatible with plastic containers [26].
However, if the container is made of mild steel metal, special
care must be taken upon the internal and external lacquer
finishes to prevent the possible corrosion [85].
 Slightly toxic.
 No or limited fire risk.
 Plenty of resources and products in the commercial market.
 Cheap and cost effective for the application in buildings.
Three types of the behavior of the melted salts can be
identified: congruent, incongruent and semi-congruent melting.
– Congruent melting occurs when the anhydrous salt is completely
soluble in its water of hydration at the melting temperature.
6 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

– Incongruent melting occurs when the salt is not entirely
soluble in its water of hydration at the melting point.
– Semi-congruent melting the liquid and solid phases in equili-
brium during a phase transition is of different melting compo-
sitions because of conversion of the hydrate to a lower-
hydrated material through loss of water.
One problem with most salt hydrates is that of incongruent
melting. Due to density difference, the solid salt, settles down at
the bottom of the container and is unavailable for recombination
with water during the reverse process of freezing. This results in
an irreversible melting–freezing of the salt hydrate which goes on
decreasing with each charge–discharge cycle.
Some solutions can be adopted for the incongruent melting
problem [26]:
– mechanical stirring;
– rotating storage devices;
– direct contacting with heat exchangers;
– macro- or micro-encapsulating the PCM, so that the sedimen-
tation and segregation will not happen;
– adding the thickening agents to hold the suspension of the
unsolved salt;
– adding excess water to completely solve the salt;
– using some chemical ways to make the materials congruent.
Major problems with most of the salt hydrates are super-
cooling, phase segregation, corrosion and lack of thermal stability.
Supercooling in several salt hydrates has been prevented by
adding nucleating agents or by promoting nucleation by rough
container walls or using the cold finger technique [100–103]. To
prevent phase segregation, several techniques, such as use of
thickening agents, rotating storage devices and direct contact heat
transfer have been used [102,103].
Metallic PCMs is another category of inorganic materials which
includes the low melting metals [104]. These metallics have not
yet been seriously considered for PCM technology because of
weight penalties. However, when volume is a consideration, they
are likely candidates because of the high heat of fusion per unit
volume. They have high thermal conductivities, so fillers with
added weight penalties are not required. The use of metallics
poses a number of unusual engineering problems. A major
difference between the metallics and other PCMs is their high
thermal conductivity. Some of the features of these materials are
as follows: (i) low heat of fusion per unit weight; (ii) high heat of
fusion per unit volume; (iii) high thermal conductivity; (iv) low
specific heat; and (v) relatively low vapor pressure.
Table 1 shows a comparison between the sensible heat storage
using a rock bed and water tank and also shows the latent heat
storage using organic and non-organic compounds. The advantage
of the latent heat over the sensible heat is clear from the
comparison of the volume and mass of the storage unit required
for storing a certain amount of heat. It is also clear from Table 2
that inorganic compounds, such as hydrated salts, have a higher
volumetric thermal storage density than the most of the organic
compounds due to their higher latent heat and density.

Table 1
Comparison between different materials for thermal storage [[22],with 2.2.3. Eutectic PCM
permission]. Eutectic is a minimum-melting mixture of several different
Property Rock Water Organic PCM Inorganic PCM
PCMs, which has a fixed phase change temperature [26]. The
components of the eutectic can be either inorganic or organic
Density (kg/m3) 2240 1000 800 1600 PCM, based on which eutectic PCMs are normally classified into
Specific heat (kJ/kg) 1.0 4.2 2.0 2.0 three subgroups: inorganic–inorganic eutectic, organic–organic
Latent heat (kJ/kg) – – 190 230 eutectic, and organic–inorganic eutectic [22,26]. The components
Storage mass for 106 kJ (kg) 67,000 16,000 5300 4350
Storage volume for 106 kJ (m3) 30 16 6.6 2.7
of the eutectic almost melt and freeze congruently and simulta-
neously, so that segregation will not happen [26].

Table 2
Thermophysical data of some PCMs [88].

Compound Melting temp. (1C) Heat of fusion (kJ/kg) Thermal conductivity (W/m K) Density (kg/m3)

Inorganics
0.570 (liquid, 120 1C) 1450 (liquid, 120 1C)
Mg Cl2  6H2O 117 168.6
0.694 (solid; 90 1C) 1569 (solid; 90 1C)
0.490 (liquid, 95 1C) 1550 (liquid, 94 1C)
Mg(NO3)2  6H2O 89 162.8
0.611 (solid; 37 1C) 1636 (solid; 25 1C)
0.653 (liquid, 85.7 1C) 1937 (liquid, 84 1C)
Ba(OH)2  8H2O 48 265.7
1.225 (solid; 23 1C) 2070(solid; 24 1C)
0.540 (liquid, 38.7 1C) 1562 (liquid, 32 1C)
CaCl2  6H2O 29 190.8
0.1088 (solid; 23 1C) 1802 (solid; 24 1C)
Organics
0.167 (liquid, 63.5 1C) 790 (liquid, 65 1C)
Paraffin wax 64 173.6
0.346 (solid; 33.6 1C) 916 (solid; 24 1C)
0.189 (liquid, 38.6 1C) 1126 (liquid, 25 1C)
Polyglycol E600 22 127.2
1232 (solid; 4 1C)
Fatty acid
0.162 (liquid, 68.4 1C) 850 (liquid, 65 1C)
Palmitic acid 64 185.4
989 (solid; 24 1C)
0.570 (liquid, 38.5 1C) 878 (liquid, 45 1C)
Capric acid 32 152.7
1004 (solid; 24 1C)
0.570 (liquid, 38.5 1C) 901 (liquid, 30 1C)
Caprylic acid 16 148.5
981 (solid; 13 1C)
Aromatics
0.132 (liquid, 83.8 1C) 976 (liquid, 84 1C)
Naphthalene 80 147.7
0.341 (solid; 49.9 1C) 1145 (solid; 20 1C)

Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
2.2.4. Commercial PCMs
There are many commercial PCM products already been avail-
able in the market, either in the form of phase change materials, or
in the form of PCM integrated products (such as PCM integrated
gypsum board, concrete, plasters, etc.). The extensive lists of the
commercially available PCMs and PCM containing products have
been published by Zalba et al. [85], Farid et al. [86], Mondal [105],
Sharma et al. [26], Cabeza et al. [95], and Delgado et al. [106] in
their review articles. At present, the main supply companies in the
market of phase change heat and cold storage materials include
Cristopia (France) [107], TEAP Energy (Australia) [108], Rubitherm
GmbH (Germany) [109], EPS Ltd. (UK) [110], PCM Thermal Solu-
tions (USA) [111], Climator (Sweden) [112] and Mitsubishi Chemi-
cal (Japan) [113] (see Table 3). A wide range of heat and cold
storage materials is produced by EPS Ltd. [110]. Due to a phase
change in the process of exploitation, PCMs are usually encapsu-
lated in various containers. The investigations of chemical compat-
ibility of low-temperature PCMs and design structure materials
have shown that stainless steel, polypropylene, and polyolefin can
be used in most cases as suitable container materials. The selection
of an appropriate PCM for any application requires the PCM to
have melting temperature within the practical range of applica-
tion. PCMs offer tremendous potential to fulfill the growing energy
needs for cooling and heating applications across various indus-
tries, including construction [34,114], commercial refrigeration,
textiles [72], transportation packaging for temperature-sensitive
products, several solar energy based systems, electronics and
biomedical materials [115] and thermal storage in satellites [116].
Table 4 lists some of the target application areas for the selection
of PCMs for study, as provided by the references in the open
literature [92]. From Table 4, it can be seen that most of the
research on phase change problems have been carried out within
the temperature range 0–65 1C suitable for domestic heating/
cooling.
Analysis of various publications dedicated to latent storage
systems show that PCM thermo-physical properties had not been
Table 3
Commercial PCM manufacturers in the world [92].
Manufacturer PCM temperature Number of
range PCMs listed
RUBITHERM (www.rubitherm.de)  3 1C to 100 1C 29
Cristopia (www.cristopia.com)  33 1C to 27 1C 12
TEAP (www.teappcm.com)  50 1C to 78 1C 22
Doerken (www.doerken.de)  22 1C to 28 1C 2 the absorption of a gas by a liquid (absorbent) [126]. In the same
Mitsubishi Chemical (www.mfc) 9.5 1C to 118 1C 6 way, adsorption is usually used to designate a phenomenon of
Climator (www.climator.com)  18 1C to 70 1C 9 binding of a gas on a surface of a solid or porous material when a
EPS Ltd (epsltd.co.uk)  114 1C to 164 1C 61
Merck
Table 4
Target application areas for some PCMs studied [92].
Temperature range (1C) PCMs studied/melting temperature (1C)
0–65 Paraffins (  3 to 64), water/ice/0,
stearic acid/41–43,n-octadecane/27.7
80–120 Erythritol/117.7; RT100 (99); MgCl2.6H2O (116.7)
4150 NaNO3/310, KNO3/330 NaOH/318, KOH/380 ZnCl2/280
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
7
studied sufficiently in order that clear recommendations could be
made for a design process of commercial heat storage units. It
should be noted that even now there is no comprehensive
database on thermo-physical properties available. This informa-
tion must be obtained by applying established rigorous thermo-
physical methods, which are usually used as the basis for inves-
tigations of other matters in solid and liquid states over wide
temperature ranges. A discrepancy was found even between the
literature and measured thermophysical properties for the same
PCMs. Hence, there is a need to generate experimental data for
these thermophysical properties in the solid and liquid phases of
PCMs in order to assist the effective and appropriate design of
thermal storage units. Practically, all the experiments on the
properties of prospective PCMs were restricted to measurements
of the melting temperature and the heat of fusion. The main
methods used by researchers in studying the thermal properties of
PCMs were “quick” methods such as differential thermal analysis
(DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) [117–122]. It is a
well-known fact that the results obtained with the use of these
methods can considerably differ from those obtained using rigor-
ous thermo-physical methods. The significant discrepancies in the
data published on the properties of PCMs demonstrate that the
accuracy of the above express methods is not sufficiently high.
Their view also shows that, except in a very few cases, no
measurements were performed to establish the temperature
dependence of the heat conductivity, the heat capacity and the
density of prospective PCMs.
2.3. Thermochemical energy storage
Bales et al. [123] separate thermochemical storage in thermo-
chemical reactions and sorption processes. Thermochemical reac-
tion storage consists of using the collected heat to excite a
reversible endothermic chemical reaction. The stored heat can be
recuperated by reversing the reaction, sometimes by adding a
catalyst. Sorption can be defined as a phenomenon of fixation or
capture of a gas or a vapor (sorbate) by a substance in condensed
state (solid or liquid) called sorbent [124]. Sorption phenomena
can involve both thermo-physical and thermo-chemical aspects
[125]. The theory of how sorption processes work can be found in
Ref. [124]. The term sorption is a general term which includes both
absorption and adsorption [125]. Absorption is defined as a
phenomenon in which a liquid or a gas enters a solid or a liquid
but considering storage applications, this term is usually relative to
more general acceptation of the word refers to a surface phenom-
enon: an attachment of gas or liquid phase of a component to the
Target application area
Storage for domestic heating/cooling.
Passive storage in bio-climatic building/architecture.
Thermal storage of solar energy. Application in off-peak electricity
for cooling and heating.
Protection of electrical devices.
Storage for the hot-side of LiBr/H2O absorption cooling
system with generator temperature requirements of
less than 120 1C.
Storage for solar power plants based on parabolic
through collectors and direct steam generation.
8 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

surface of another substance. Adsorption is split into two types:
physical adsorption (physisorption) and chemical adsorption (che-
misorption or solid/gas chemical reaction) [127]. Chemisorption
processes offer larger heat of sorption than physisorption but may
be irreversible [126]. A good comparison of both phenomena has
been given in Refs. [127–129].
The main principle of sorption and thermochemical storage
systems is based on a reaction that can be reversed:
C þ heat 3 A þ B
In this reaction, a thermochemical material (C) absorbs energy and
is converted chemically into two components (A and B), which can
be stored separately. The reverse reaction occurs when A and B are
combined together and C is formed. In general, a thermochemical
energy storage cycle includes three main processes [130–132]:
charging, storing and discharging.
2.3.1. Charging
The charging process is endothermic. Thermal energy is
absorbed from an energy resource, which could be a renewable
energy resource and/or conventional energy sources like fossil
fuels. This energy is used for dissociation of the thermochemical
material, and is equivalent to the heat of reaction or enthalpy of
formation. After this process, two materials (A and B) with
different properties are formed that can be stored. The reaction
during charging can be written as
C þ heat-A þ B
2.3.2. Storing
After the charging process, components A and B are separately
stored with little or no energy losses. The materials are usually
stored at ambient temperatures, leading to no thermal losses
(except during the initial cooling of components A and B after
charging). Any other energy losses are due to degradation of the
materials.
Materials appear to play a key role in these challenges [138]. A
suitable material can store the energy without heat loss and is able
to release this energy immediately when it is needed. A compre-
hensive review of thermochemical energy storage describes the
main concepts, criteria for choosing appropriate storage media and
candidate reaction pairs [139]. Recently, thermochemical storage
systems have been researched in the frame of the IEA SHC Task 32
programme [140].Task 32 [141] identified potential candidate
reactions for thermochemical reaction storage [142]. They are
summarized in Table 5. Although the very high storage density
of silicon oxide is attractive, the endothermic part of the reaction is
quite complex and must be performed in an industrial environ-
ment: it involves side reactions including HF and electrolysis of
NaF and H2O. The exothermic reaction of silicon oxide, as well as
all other reactions involving the reactants enumerated in Table 5
can be performed in residential areas. Table 6 presents potential
molecule pairs for sorption storage identified as showing potential
for residential solar thermal applications in the frame of IEA SHC
Task 32 [142]. The energy densities presented in the table are for
the weight of the pair and not just for the weight of the sorbent as
presented by some authors. These pairs were selected as the best
candidates from a more complete list provided by Mugnier and
Goetz [143]. Zeolites, sometimes used for adsorption processes, are
aluminosilicate minerals of alkali or alkaline earth metals which
contain crystal water.
Another key challenge is linked to reactors. Zondag et al. [144]
suggested that separate reactors are more suitable than integrated
reactors, for seasonal storage. Indeed, integrated reactors are
usually used for solid sorption material because the transport of
the solid material is not necessary when using such reactors.
However, for large storage, which is often the case in long-term
storage, all the storage materials have to be heated up from
the ambient temperature at the beginning of the sorption and
has a heat loss due to the ambient temperature during and after
the discharging [144,145]. This results in a larger sensible loss
especially when the reactor is not divided into compartments. By

2.3.3. Discharging
During this process, A and B are combined in an exothermic Table 5
reaction. Energy can therefore be stored with negligible thermal Potential materials for chemical reaction storage identified during IEA SHC Task 32
[142].
loss [133] since heat is not kept in sensible or latent form but in
chemical potential. After discharging, component C is regenerated Material Dissociation reaction Energy density Turnover
and can be used again in the cycle. The discharging reaction can be storage (GJ/m3) temperature
written as (1C)

A þ B-C þ heat Magnesium

MgSO4  7H2O ) MgSO4 þ 7H2O 2.8 122
Sorption processes dedicated to storage can be classified as open sulfate
Silicon
or closed system [134]. In open systems, which operate at atmo- SiO2 ) Si þO2 37.9 4065
oxide
spheric pressure, the working fluid vapor is released to the þ HF:150
environment, which means that only water is used for those (????)
systems. By contrast, materials isolated from the neighborhood Iron
FeCO3 ) FeOþ CO2 2.6 180
carbonate
and fluids circulating in closed circuits characterize closed sys-
Iron
tems. Closed systems are able to supply higher output tempera- Fe(OH)2 ) FeOþ H2O 2.2 150
hydroxide
tures for heating applications than open systems [135]. However Calcium
CaSO4  2H2O ) CaSO4 þ 2H2O 1.4 89
the regeneration of closed systems usually requires a higher level sulfate
of temperature than open systems. In closed systems that operate
in vacuum conditions, the presence of non-condensable gases can
reduce strongly the system performance [136,137].
In thermochemical storage systems researchers are mainly Table 6
Sorption pairs identified during IEA SHT Task 32 [140].
submitted to the following challenges [138]: cost, cycling behavior
(reversibility and degradation over large numbers of cycles), Absorption Adsorption Solid–gas reaction
availability, toxicity and safety, corrosiveness, energy storage
density, reaction temperature, reaction rate, ability to be engi- NH3–H2O 0.40 GJ/kg H2O–zeolite 4 A 0.08 GJ/kg H2O–Na2 1.27 GJ/kg
neered into a practical system (e.g., heat transfer characteristics H2O–NaOH 1.00 GJ/kg H2O–silica gel 0.14 GJ/kg H2O–MgCL2 0.84 GJ/kg
H2O–CaCl2 0.98 GJ/kg
and flow properties), the choice of the best system (closed or H2O–LiCl 0.71 GJ/kg
open), the heat exchangers design and the reactors configuration.

Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
Table 7
Comparison of different types of TES [147].
Performance Type of thermal energy storage
parameter
Sensible TES
Temperature Up to:
range  110 1C (water tanks)
 50 1C (aquifers and ground storage)
 400 1C (concrete)
Storage density Low (with high temperature interval) 0.2 GJ/m3 (for
typical water tanks)
Lifetime Long
Technology Available commercially
status
Advantages  Low cost
 Reliable
 Simple application with available materials
Disadvantage  Significant heat loss over time (depending on
level of insulation)
 Large volume needed
contrast, in a separate reactor, only little amounts of sorbent and
sorbate are to be heated up in the reactor, according to the desired
power so that the system is more efficient. The heat exchanger
surface is also smaller than in the case of integrated reactor.
Moreover, the reactor can easily be insulated since it is smaller.
Concerning the heat exchangers design, the use of efficient heat
exchangers has a non-negligible effect on the global process.
Indeed, as aforementioned, the energy storage density is, among
others, strongly dependent on the required discharging tempera-
ture. The minimum temperature of discharging is given by the
minimum temperature required for the space heating and the
driving temperature differences of heat exchangers ranging from
the space heating loop to the heat exchanger of the reactor. Now,
the achievable storage density decreases drastically, when higher
temperature lift is needed during discharging [135]. So heat
exchangers, especially in the reactor, had a good efficiency. This
is all more important since some storage materials have low heat
conductivity or low reaction rate. Similar considerations can be
applied to the low heat source loop that supplies evaporation
energy in winter: the storage density decreases with the tempera-
ture of the produced vapor.
Different types of thermal energy storage systems are quanti-
tatively contrasted and compared in Table 7 [146,147], considering
a range of relevant performance parameters and factors. We can
note that thermochemical storage has the undeniable advantage of
allowing storage of reaction products at ambient temperature,
resulting in no long-term self-discharge of the storage unit: a
significant benefit for seasonal storage applications. Thermoche-
mical energy storage systems have also several advantages over
other types of thermal energy storage systems:
– Components (A and B) can usually be stored separately at
ambient temperature, after cooling to ambient conditions
subsequent to their formation. Therefore, there is little or no
heat loss during the storing period and, as a consequence,
insulation is not needed.
– As a result of the low heat losses, thermochemical energy
storage system is useful for short durations as well as longer
periods, as used in seasonal thermal storage.
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
9
Latent TES Chemical TES
20–40 1C (paraffins) 20–200 1C
30–80 1C (salt hydrates)
Moderate (with low temperature interval) Normally high 0.4–3 GJ/m3
0.3–0.5 GJ/m3
Often limited due to storage material cycling Depends on reactant degradation and side
reactions
Available commercially for some Generally not available, but undergoing
temperatures and materials research and pilot project tests
 Medium storage density  High storage density
 Small volumes  Low heat losses
 Short distance transport possibility  Long storage period
 Long distance transport possibility
 Highly compact energy storage
 Low heat conductivity  High capital costs
 Corrosively of materials  Technically complex
 Significant heat losses (depending on
level of insulation)
– Thermochemical materials have higher energy densities rela-
tive to PCMs and sensible storage media. Due to the high
energy density and compact nature of thermochemical energy
storage, this type of technology is considered by many to be
promising for residential and commercial buildings. Heat
storage based on chemical reactions can be applied to heating
and cooling in small and large buildings as well.
Nevertheless, from Task 32 [142] there are a number of
promising technologies and materials for the seasonal chemical
storage of solar heat, but that much research remains before they
become practical and economical. The main area of research
should be on materials, which are either too expensive, do not
have the right properties or have not yet been shown to work in
prototypes with realistic boundary conditions.
3. Electrical energy storage systems
Fossil fuels have two important characteristics in addition to
being concentrated sources of energy. They are energy stores and
they are readily transportable. This means that the fuels may be
stored until such time as they are required and may be transported
by rail, road or pipeline to where they are to be used. By contrast,
most of the renewable (except for biomass and hydro) cannot be
stored and cannot be transported to the place of use, except by
first converting them to electricity [148]. Electricity is the most
versatile and preferred form of energy for many applications and
therefore it is not surprising that renewable energies and elec-
tricity generation are so intimately bound together. Electricity is
readily transmitted over long distances and distributed to con-
sumers by cable, but there is often the problem of matching the
supply to meet the demand [13]. This calls for the development
and application of systems for the efficient storage of electricity.
Electric energy storage is the capability of storing energy to
produce electricity and releasing it for use during other periods
when the use or cost is more beneficial [149]. An electrical energy
storage unit can participate in electricity markets in a number of
ways, depending on its energy storage and delivery characteristics
10 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

[150]. Electrical energy storage includes all the technologies and high cost (typically hundreds to thousands of million US dollars) for
systems where the external interface is electrical. The electrical construction and environmental issues [157,158] are the major
interface is a crucial element of electrical energy storage systems constraints in the deployment of PHS.
and is provided by a power conversion system [150,151]. The
power conversion system can represent more than 25% of the 3.2. Compressed air energy storage (CAES)
overall cost of a complete electrical energy system [151]. Electrical
energy can be stored directly or indirectly with different methods: In this type of system, energy is stored by compressing air
mechanically by pumping water or compressing air or increasing within an air reservoir, using a compressor powered by off-peak/
rotational speed of electromagnetic flywheels; chemically by low-cost electric energy [159,160]. A special clutch is required to
producing or converting components in chemical systems such allow the turbine/generator to operate in two directions, one for
as batteries of flow batteries; and by modifying electrical or charging and one for discharging (see Fig. 2). Three reservoir types
magnetic fields in capacitors or superconducting magnets. are generally considered: naturally occurring aquifers (such as
those used for natural gas storage), solution-mined salt caverns,
and mechanically formed reservoirs in rock formations. Aquifer
3.1. Pumped hydro storage (PHS)
storage is by far the most cost effective. During charging, the
plant′s generator operates in reverse – as a motor – to provide
Pumped storage electricity is a method of storing and producing
mechanical energy needed by compressors, which send com-
electricity to supply high peak demands by pumping water from a
pressed air into the reservoir. When the plant discharges, it uses
lower reservoir to an upper reservoir (see Fig. 1). When the power
the compressed air to operate its combustion turbine. Natural gas
demand is high, water flows from the upper reservoir to the lower
is also burned during plant discharge, in the same way it is burned
reservoir, activating the turbines to generate electricity [13]. Genera-
during gas generation in a conventional combustion turbine plant.
tion and pumping can be accomplished either by single-unit,
The turbine turns the generator, which creates electricity. Cur-
reversible pump-turbines or by separate pumps and turbines. The
rently, the use of CAES is not widespread. Only two plants have
switch between pumping and generating can occur within minutes;
been constructed in the world so far; one in Germany (290 MW)
depending on the installation, such changes occur from once or twice
and the other in the USA (110 MW) [15]. The energy density of this
to more than 40 times daily. The amount of stored energy is
type of system is in order of 12 kWh/m3 [149], while the estimated
proportional to the height difference between the two reservoirs
efficiency is around 70% and the lifetime is approximately 40 years
and the volume of water stored. Underground pumped storage, using
[149]. Capital costs for CAES depend on the underground storage
flooded mine shafts or other cavities, is also technically possible.
conditions, ranging typically between $400 and $800 per kW [156].
Open sea can also be used as the lower reservoir [152]. Plants that do
Since the self-discharge of the system is very low, CAES is considered
not use pumped storage are referred to as conventional hydroelectric
long term time scale storage installations which can compete with
plants. Pumped hydro storage is a mature technology, with about
PHS. CAES and PHS are the only storage technologies that are
300 systems operating worldwide. According to Dursun and Alboyaci
currently suitable for large scale power and high energy storage
[153], the use of pumped hydro storage systems can be divided into
applications [161]. However, there are several features that make
24 h time-scale applications, and applications involving more pro-
CAES very different from PHS. The capital cost of CAES is significantly
longed energy storage in time, including several days. The relatively
lower and since the storage is underground, there is very little impact
low energy density of pumped storage systems requires either a very
to the surface environment [162].
large body of water or a large variation in height. In general, the
lifetime of PHSS is around 30–50 years, with a round trip efficiency of
3.3. Flywheel energy storage (FES)
65–75% and power capital costs of 500–1500 Euros/kW and 10–20
Euros/kWh [154]. Thermal plants are much less able to respond to
Flywheels have been used to store energy for thousands of years
sudden changes in electrical demand, potentially causing frequency
[163]. They can have energy fed in the rotational mass of a flywheel,
and voltage instability. The fast response time (less than 1 min [155])
store it as kinetic energy, and release out upon demand [164–168]. A
enables the PHS as important components to control electrical
mass rotates on two magnetic bearings in order to decrease friction
network frequency and in provision of reserve generation. The major
at high speed, coupled with an electric machine. The entire structure
drawback of PHS lies in the scarcity of available sites for two large
is placed in a vacuum to reduce wind shear (see Fig. 3). Energy is
reservoirs [156]. A long lead time (typically around 10 years) and a
transferred to the flywheel when the machine operates as motor,

Upper basin
Air injection
Accumulation Expander
(off peak hours)
Compressor
Air Air
Alternator
Motor Exhaust
Lowerbasin Motor
Restitution Gas Turbine (CT)
(peak hours)
Compressed Air
Turbine
Pump
Air Storage

Fig. 1. The pumped hydro storage system. Fig. 2. The compressed air storage system.

Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
Fig. 3. The flywheel storage system [251].
charging the energy storage device. The FES is discharged when the
electric machine regenerates through the drive. The kinetic energy
stored in a flywheel is proportional to the mass and the square of its
rotating speed. The maximum stored energy is ultimately limited by
the tensile strength of the flywheel material. The energy density of
the flywheel depends on the product of a shape factor, taking the
inertia of the rotating disk into account and the permissible
tangential strength of the disk which depends on its material.
Moreover, the maximum specific energy of the system is determined
by the ratio of the energy density and the density of the material of
the rotating disk [169,170].
There are two types of flywheel: conventional steel rotor
flywheels which run at low speed (o 6000 rpm) and advanced
composite flywheels which run at high speed (104–105 rpm). The
price of low-speed FES can be up to five times lower than the cost
of high-speed FES [169,170] although their performance is always
inferior. FES is adequate for interchanging medium and high
powers (kW to MW) during short periods (seconds) with high
energy efficiency in the range of 90–95% [171,156]. In these
situations, FES has favorable characteristics when compared with
electrochemical batteries. FES allows a very high number of
charge/discharge cycles (hundreds of thousands). This number of
cycles is independent of the temperature and the depth of the
discharge. Therefore, the FES useful lifetime is long ( 420 years)
and FES disposal does not have environmental concerns. In
addition, monitoring of the state of charge for FES is simple and
reliable as only the flywheel spinning speed is needed to know
[165–167].
The disadvantages of flywheels are relatively poor energy
density and large standby losses. In addition, the self-discharge
rates for complete flywheel systems are about 20% of the stored
capacity per hour [8,156]. This is the reason why flywheels are not
adequate devices for long-term energy. Flywheel technologies may
have different applications. They can be used to provide power
when there is insufficient power being generated, and to store
excess production. Another important application for flywheel
technologies is for power conditioning and for providing power
when there are durations of total power loss as a result of
electricity grid failure. The main limitation with regard to the
widespread use of flywheels is still the high cost due to the
precision engineering need. Currently, research focuses on
improvements in the materials and manufacturing processes to
achieve long-term mechanical stability, improved low loss bear-
ings and reduction of costs. Also safety aspects and containment
for mobile applications are a research issue.
3.4. Battery energy storage system
A battery is an electrochemical device that has the ability to
deliver, in the form of electric energy, the chemical energy
generated by electrochemical reactions [13]. These reactions are
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
11
set in train inside a basic cell, between two electrodes plunged
into an electrolyte, when a load is connected to the cell′s
terminals. The reaction involves the transfer of electrons from
one electrode to the other through an external electric circuit.
A battery consists of single or multiple cells, connected in series or
in parallel or both depending on the desired output voltage and
capacity [13,14]. Each cell consists of
– the anode or negative electrode which provides electrons to the
load and is oxidized during the electrochemical reaction;
– the cathode or positive electrode which accepts electrons and is
reduced during the reaction;
– the electrolyte which provides the medium for transfer of
electrons between the anode and the cathode;
– the separators between positive and negative electrodes for
electrical insulation.
During discharge, electrochemical reactions at the two electro-
des generate a flow of electrons through an external circuit. During
the charging process, the electrochemical reactions are reversed
via the application of the external voltage across the electrodes.
The main difference between different battery systems is the
materials used as electrodes and electrolyte, which determine
the specific characteristics of the batteries. Separators are made of
polymeric materials, paper or paperboard [172]. The external case
is composed of steel, polymeric materials or paperboard. Electro-
des and electrolytes change as a function of the different applica-
tions of batteries. The potentially hazardous components of
batteries include mercury, lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, manga-
nese, nickel and lithium [173].The development of improved
battery technology is critical for advancements in a variety of
applications ranging from hybrid electric vehicles to consumer
electronics [174,175], and improved battery performance depends
on the development of materials for the various battery compo-
nents [176–178]. Batteries can be classified as primary batteries,
which are not rechargeable, or secondary batteries, which can be
recharged [178,179]. In the context of the present paper, only
secondary batteries are considered since primary batteries are not
viable for bulk energy storage. The construction of a secondary
battery is facilitated by the short lead times, potentially convenient
sitting and the technology′s modularity [180,181]. However, large
scale utility battery storage has been rare up until fairly recently
because of low energy densities, small power capacity high
maintenance costs a short cycle life and a limited discharge
capability [156,182]. Batteries that are either in use and/or poten-
tially suitable for utility scale battery energy storage applications
include lead acid battery, nickel based battery, sodium sulfur
battery and lithium based battery [183].
3.4.1. Lead–acid battery
Lead–acid battery is the most mature and the cheapest energy
storage device of all the battery technologies available. Lead–acid
batteries are based on chemical reactions involving lead dioxide
(which forms the cathode electrode), lead (which forms the anode
electrode) and sulfuric acid which acts as the electrolyte. There are
two major types of lead–acid batteries: flooded batteries, which
are the most common topology, and valve-regulated batteries,
which are subject of extensive research and development [4,9].
Lead acid battery has a low cost ($300–$600/kWh), and a high
reliability and efficiency (70–90%) [156]. In addition to the rela-
tively poor performance of the battery at low and high ambient
temperatures, and its relatively short lifetime, the main disadvan-
tages of the lead–acid battery are the necessity for periodic water
maintenance and its low specific energy and power. Lead–acid
batteries present also difficulties in providing frequent power
12 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

cycling, often in partial state of charge, which can lead to pre- Beta
mature failure due to sulphation [184,185]. Alumina
Tube
- 2 Volts
+
3.4.2. Nickel-based battery
The nickel based batteries are mainly the nickel–cadmium
(NiCd), the nickel-metal hybride (NiMH) and the nickel-zinc
(NiZn) batteries. All three types use the same material for positive
electrode and the electrolyte which is nickel hydroxide and an
aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide with some lithium
hydroxide, respectively [186]. As for the negative electrode, the Molten
NiCd type uses cadmium hydroxide, the NiMH uses a metal alloy
and the NiZn uses zinc hydroxide. Nickel–cadmium batteries Na
compete with lead–acid batteries because they have a higher S
energy density, a longer life cycle (more than 3500 cycles [187]) Na2 S4
and lower maintenance requirements. Despite the above advan- Na+
tages of the nickel–cadmium battery over the lead–acid battery,
nickel–cadmium battery has not had a major commercial success, Discharge
mainly due to its considerable costs at more than 10 times of lead–
acid [190]. On top of that, nickel–cadmium batteries contain toxic
heavy metals which can cause health risk in humans [188,189] and
suffer from severe self-discharge [190,191]. For this reason, in
November 2003, the European commission drew up a proposal for
new directives including recycling targets of 75% of this type of Sulfur
battery. With this new legal framework, energy storage in Nickel–
cadmium batteries has an uncertain future. Nickel metal hybride Fig. 4. NaS battery.

(NiMH) batteries are feasible alternative to Nickel–cadmium

batteries due to their improved performance and environmental
advantage. In comparison to lead–acid and Nickel–cadmium
batteries, NiMH battery is environmentally friendly due to the
lack of toxic substances such as cadmium, lead or mercury [192].
Energy density of NiMH cells is 25–30% better than high perfor-
mance nickel cadmium cells [192,193]. Although NiMH batteries
have superior specific energy when compared to lead–acid and
NiCd batteries [193]. NiMH batteries also suffer from severe self-
discharge, making them inefficient for long term energy storage.

3.4.3. Sodium–sulfur battery (NaS)

In order to achieve much higher power and energy density,
some novel energy storage technologies are under research [194].
NaS battery is one of these types and it has already been employed
in power systems for more than 20 projects in Japan and many
other worldwide constructions since 1980s [187]. A NaS as shown
in Fig. 4 consists of liquid (molten) sulfur at the positive electrode
and liquid (molten) sodium at the negative electrode as active
materials separated by a solid beta alumina ceramic electrolyte
[195]. NaS battery cells are usually designed in a tubular manner
where the sodium is normally contained in an interior cavity
formed by the electrolyte. Compared with the other leading
battery technologies, NaS shows much more attractive energy
density (four times that of lead–acid battery) and has a long cycle
capability (2500 cycles upon 90% depth of discharge) and a
millisecond response for full charging and discharging operations,
which presents good potentials to be applied in microgrid applica-
tions for power regulations. The energy density and the energy
efficiency of this type of batteries are very high 151 kWh/m3 and
85% respectively [187,195,196]. Additional important features of
NaS batteries are no self-discharge, low maintenance and their
99% recyclability. NaS battery can be widely used in aggregated
energy storage. China has recently declared an installation of the
first industrial NaS battery station (100/800 kWh) in the world
Expo 2010 Shanghai, as shown in Fig. 5 and hence became the
second country which has mastered the large scale manufactur-
ing technology for industrial applications. The disadvantage of
NaS batteries are their high cost (around $2000/kW and around
Fig. 5. The first NaS battery station in China [250].
$350/kWh), high self-discharge per day and high temperature
requirements ( 300–350 1C) for operations [156,171].
3.4.4. Lithium-based battery
Lithium-based batteries are widely used in small applications,
such as mobile phones and portable electronic devices; therefore
the annual production gross is around 2 billion cells [197]. Some
battery manufactures (SAFT, Shin-Kobe, Japan Storage, Avestor) are
developing lithium-based batteries in both high energy and high
power configurations for electric vehicles and hybrid electric
vehicles [198,199]. A Lithium technology battery consists of two
main types: lithium-ion and lithium–polymer cells [8].The high
energy and power density of lithium-ion cells make them attrac-
tive for wide range of applications, from portable electronics to
satellite applications [199]. The even growing demand for energy
storage requires further researches to improve the performance of
this type of power resource. Most commercial lithium-ion cells

Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 13

manufactured today consists of a carbon based negative electrode,

e
a layered oxide positive electrode and an electrolyte based on a Electrical
solution of a lithium salt in a mixture of organic solvents. Current
Numerous researches have been carried out on electrode materials
and electrolyte showing the importance of the choice of these
+ -
components of the battery. For lithium-ion batteries, self- 2H +2e =>H2
discharge rate is very low at maximum 5% per month and battery
Oxygen Hydrogen
lifetime can reach more than 1500 cycles [197]. However the
lifetime of lithium-ion battery is temperature dependent, with
aging taking its toll much faster at high temperatures, and can
severely shortened due to deep discharges. This makes lithium-ion Anode
batteries unsuitable for use in back-up applications where they
+ Cathode
may become completely discharged. Although Li-ion batteries take 2H2 O =>O2 + 2H + +4e -
over 50% of the small portable devices market, there are some
challenges for making large-scale Li-ion batteries. The main hurdle H2O
is the high cost (4$600/kWh) due to the special packaging and
Fig. 6. Hydrogen fuel cell.
internal overcharge protection circuits [156]. Lithium–polymer
battery lifetime can only reach about 600 cycles. Regarding its
self-discharge, this is much dependent on temperature but it has
been reported to be around 5% per month [197]. Compared to the
Li-ion battery, the lithium–polymer battery operational specifica-
tions dictate a much narrower temperature range, avoiding lower
temperatures. However, lithium–polymer batteries are lighter, and
Ion-Selective
safer with minimum self-inflammability.
Membrane
Basic chemistry suggests that lithium-based cell technologies Electrode
are likely to represent the pinnacle of cell development in terms of
specific energy density [14]. Lithium-based cell technologies may
benefit in future from better electrodes, plates, current collectors
Electrolyte
- + Electrolyte
and seals, complemented by developments in materials proces- Flow Cell
sing, fabrication and manufacturing techniques.

3.5. Hydrogen based energy storage (HES)

Hydrogen is one of the most efficient, cleanest and lightest

fuels; however it is not found naturally and must be produced
from primary energy sources [200,201]. It is expected to play a
major role in future energy systems. Like electricity, it must be
produced and transported. Although hydrogen has one additional
advantage: it can be stored. Electricity must be used as it is
produced; it can be stored only if converted to another energy
form. Currently there are four main technologies for hydrogen
storage out of which two are more mature and developed. These
are the hydrogen pressurization and the hydrogen adsorption in
metal hydrides. The remaining two technologies that are still in
research and technological development phase are the adsorption
of hydrogen on carbon nano-fibers and the liquefaction of hydro-
gen [202]. For a comprehensive review of hydrogen production
technologies the reader is referred to Goswami et al. [203]. When
hydrogen is produced it can be stored in order to be used directly
in fuel cells, or transported to users to produce electricity [202].
A hydrogen fuel cell uses hydrogen and oxygen to produce
electricity and water [204–209] as shown in Fig. 6, and a reversible
hydrogen fuel cell could also use electricity and water to produce
hydrogen and oxygen. The essential elements of an hydrogen fuel
cell comprise an electrolyzer unit, to convert the electrical energy
input into hydrogen, the hydrogen storage system itself and a
hydrogen energy conversion, to convert the stored chemical
energy in the hydrogen back to electrical energy. Using these
elements, water is electrolytically decomposed into hydrogen and
oxygen. There are a number of concepts of hydrogen fuel cells, the
principles technologies include Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel
Cells (PEM-FCs), Alkaline Fuel Cells (AFCs), Phosphoric Acid Fuel
Cells (PAFCs) and Regenerative Fuel Cells (RFCs) [209,210]. Hydro-
gen fuel cells posses several advantages, including high energy
density, applicability at small and large scale and simple modular
use. In terms of their useful life and cycle life they are estimated at
Power source/load
Fig. 7. Schematic overview of a redox flow cell energy storage system [211].
more than 15 years and 20,000 charge and discharge cycles
respectively [201,204]. It is important to note that hydrogen-
based storage technologies are considered as one of the promising
technologies in load shifting applications (load shifting delays
renewable energy delivery from non-peak to peak utility demand).
Actually, several demo projects have been developed as a proof of
concept concerning stand-alone systems with wind, photovoltaic
generation and hydrogen storage [201]. On the negative side, they
are currently expensive ($6–$20/kWh) and suffer from a very low
round trip efficiency (20–50%) [156,210]. Thus, reducing a hydro-
gen fuel cell′s cost is the major R&D challenge.
3.6. Flow battery energy storage (FBES)
Flow batteries (often called redox flow batteries) are relatively
new system. In a flow battery the battery is charged and dis-
charged by a (reversible) chemical reaction between the two liquid
electrolytes of the battery (see Fig. 7 [211]). Unlike conventional
batteries, the liquid electrolytes are contained in separate tanks.
During operation these electrolytes are pumped through the
electro-chemical reactor, in which a chemical redox reaction takes
place and electricity is produced. Due to this storage of the

Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
14 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

electrolytes outside the reactor, the specifications of the battery
are flexible; the power and the energy content of the system can
be specified separately. It is very easy to increase the amount of
electrolytes or to replace the electrolytes. Moreover, the design of
the power cell can be optimized for the power rating needed, as
this is independent of the amount of electrolyte used [190,212].
Flow batteries can release energy continuously at a high rate of
discharge for up to 10 h [156,213]. Flow batteries are distinguished
from fuel cells by the fact that the chemical reaction involved is
often reversible, i.e. they are generally of the secondary battery
type and so they can be recharged without replacing the electro-
active material. One of the major advantages of flow batteries is
that their energy capacity is easily scalable, since it depends on the
volume of the stored electrolyte. This leads to lower installation
costs the larger the system is [188]. Other interesting features of
flow batteries are their ability to become fully discharged without
any damage, and their very low self-discharge, since the electro-
lytes are stored in separate sealed tanks. Therefore, flow batteries
result as systems with a long life and low maintenance, able to
store energy over long periods of time [210]. Over the past few
years three types of flow batteries were developed up to the stage
of commercialization and demonstration. These types are vana-
dium redox battery (VRB), Polysulphide Bromide Batteries (PSB)
and zinc bromine battery (ZnBr) [214–217]. Table 8 presents
important characteristics of these technologies. Among the flow
batteries, VBR appears to be better than PSB and ZnBr as they are
of low capacities and low cycle life. Efficiency of VBR is also slightly
better. Using only vanadium in the electrolyte as opposed to a
blend of electrochemical elements gives VBR systems the most
competitive advantage in terms of operating cost, system life,
maintenance and safety.
3.7. Capacitor and supercapacitor energy storage
Capacitors store energy as electric charge between two plates
metal or conductive separated by an insulating material known as
a dielectric when a voltage differential is applied across the plates
[218] (see Fig. 8). When one plate is charged with electricity from a
direct current source, the other plate will have induced in it a
charge of the opposite sign [219]. The factors that determine the
capacitance are the size of the plates, the separation of the plates,
and the type of material used for the dielectric. The energy stored
in the capacitors is directly proportional to their capacity and the
square of the voltage between the terminals of the electrochemical
cell, while the capacity is proportional to the distance between the
electrodes. Capacitors are already used in many utility power
control applications. The advantages of capacitors for small energy
storage and short discharge are long cycle life and immediate
recharge capability [210]. However, the main problem presented
by capacitors is the low energy density. If a large capacity is
required, the area of the dielectric must be very large. This fact
makes the use of large capacitors uneconomical and often cum-
bersome [156].
Supercapacitors have the same principle as capacitors except
that the insulating material is replaced by electrolyte ionic con-
ductor in which ion movement is made along a conducting
electrode with a very large specific surface providing higher
energy density to the system [220,221]. The design of the electro-
des and the choice of electrolyte allow a very high charge density
on the electrode surfaces, but limits the voltage to approximately
2.7 V per cell. Despite the low voltage the energy content is much
higher than in conventional capacitors and can reach the scale of a
few Wh for some of the largest supercapacitors which are now

Table 8
Comparison between different technologies of flow battery [156].

Technology VRB PSB ZnBr

Efficiency (%) 85 75 75
Cycle life charge/discharge 13,000 (12,000þ ) – 2500 (2000 þ)
Capacity (MW) 0.5–100 () 1–15 0.05–1 (0.05–2)
Operation temp. (1C) 0–40 () 50 () 50 ()
Energy density (Wh/kg) 30 (10–30) – 50 (20–50)
Self-discharge Small Small Small

External Grid
C-PCS

Power
injected /
absorbed
Discharge Charge
Separator
-
e
e-
Discharge
Charge

- - +
Porous
Electrolyte
+ -+
- + + - - Porous
electrode - + - - ++ electrode
- - + + + - - +
-+ + - + +
- -- + (Actice
(Actice
-+ -
material)
-+ + + + material) N-cells
- + - -- + connected in
Insulator series/parallel
Shell Double-layer

Fig. 8. The capacitor storage system.

Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
commercially available. Supercapacitors are connected together to
form larger modules with up to 1 kWh energy content and can be
further joined together for larger energy storage units.
Supercapacitors have very high power output and energy
storage systems now under trial reach approximately 50–100 kW
[220,221]. In most applications, the energy stored will supply the
load only for a few seconds to minutes. The number of charge and
discharge cycles is for all practical purposes nearly unlimited but
the energy throughput in fast cyclic operation is limited. Control
circuit to balance the individual voltages of each supercapacitor is
necessary for safe and reliable operation if supercapacitors are
connected in series to achieve a high output voltage. The lifetime
of supercapacitors will probably be in the range of large conven-
tional capacitors, e.g. 10 years. The in–out efficiency is very high,
but the self-discharge rate is considerable compared with bat-
teries. Finally, it can be noted that the most important drawback of
supercapacitors is their high cost estimated at 5 times that lead–
acid battery cost [222].
3.8. Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES)
The superconducting magnetic energy storage system is an
energy storage device that stores electrical energy in a magnet field
without conversion to chemical or mechanical forms [223]. SMES is
achieved by inducing DC current into coil made of superconducting
cables of nearly zero resistance, generally made of niobiumtitane
(NbTi) filaments that operate at very low temperature ( 270 1C)
[150,223]. The current increases when charging and decreases during
the discharge process and has to be converted for AC or DC voltage
application. When looking at the total system, however, it is clear
that there is considerable energy requirement for refrigeration. Also,
the current has to flow through non-superconducting components
and solid-state switches, which cause resistive losses. Despite this,
the overall efficiency in commercial applications in the range of the
MW is very high [223]. Like a battery, a SMES system provides rapid
response for either charge or discharge. Unlike a battery, the amount
of energy available is independent of the discharge rating. The energy
content of SMES in commercial use today is approximately 1 kWh
but the maximum power output is in the MW range and only limited
by the rating of the power electronics. Due to the complexity of the
cooling system, SMES cannot be built cost effectively for low power
outputs. The response time of a SMES is limited to a few milliseconds
by the speed with which the need to release energy is detected and
the speed of the subsequent switching operation of the power
electronics. In practice that is a few milliseconds [156]. The lifetime
of the superconducting coil and the number of charge and discharge
are very high and probably exceed all competing technologies
although there is mechanical stress in the components leading to
material fatigue [223]. Despite their good technological features,
there are actually very few SMES system built, mainly due to their
high cost [224,225].
4. Techno-economic evaluations of energy storage systems
Each storage technology has unique characteristics and is
different in terms of its appropriate application field and energy
storage scale. A comprehensive analysis of each storage technology
needs to be performed before a decision can be made about the
storage technology that is most suitable. From a user point of view
there are both technical and commercial criteria for selecting the
most suitable technology [14–19]:
 Energy and power density
The power density (W/kg or W/litre) is the rated output power
divided by the volume of the storage device. The energy
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
15
density is calculated as a stored energy divided by the volume.
The volume of the storage device is the volume of the whole
energy storage system.
 Self-discharge
There is the portion of the energy that was initially stored and
which has dissipated over a given amount of non-use time.
 Response time
Some applications have very stringent requirements concern-
ing the speed with which the energy has to be released or
absorbed. In some applications, a few milliseconds may some-
times be the maximum response time that is acceptable.
 Cost and economies of scale
The auxiliary components required by some energy storage
systems determine the total system costs and are often inde-
pendent of system size. For these reasons, some storage
systems are only economically feasible above a minimum
energy content and power output. To obtain the cost per
output (useful) energy, the cost per unit energy is divided by
the storage efficiency. To evaluate the cost of energy storage in
a frequent charge/discharge application such as load leveling,
we define the per cycle cost (the cost per unit energy divided
by the cycle life).
 Lifetime
The overall energy storage cost is determined by the original
investment costs and its projected lifetime. The accuracy with
which the lifetime can be estimated is a particularly important
problem for all energy storage system.
 Storage capacity
This is the quantity of available energy in the storage system
after charging. Discharge is often incomplete. Since the dis-
charge is often incomplete, the storage capacity is defined on
the basis of total energy stored (Wh) which is superior to that
actually retrieved.
 Monitoring and control equipment
The performance of some systems can be monitored extremely
easily and cheaply whereas in some other systems a consider-
able effort has to be used to monitor the available energy
content and the safety of the energy storage.
 Efficiency
The process of storing and withdrawing energy can cause
considerable losses. Many auxiliary components of the energy
storage system have a constant power demand, and in addition,
there are energy losses inherent in the storage principle. These
losses can be very high in relation to the energy content.
 Operating constraints
The cost of providing the correct environment and operating
constraints such as temperature and safety systems etc. have to
be considered for proper estimates of the lifetime expectations
and overall costs.
Based on these criteria, the appropriateness of the energy
storage system for various applications has been evaluated in the
literature, such as, for flexible alternating current transmission
systems, small/medium/large scale applications, system efficiency,
emissions control, peak shaving and deferring facility investments
in peaking generators [18,19]. Many studies compare the perfor-
mance of the various storage technologies in different categories
based on lists of criteria from technical, economic and environ-
mental. Cheung et al. [226] provided a comprehensive compara-
tive analysis for pumped hydroelectric storage, compressed air
energy storage, batteries, superconducting magnetic energy sto-
rage, flywheel, super-capacitor and thermal energy storage. Schoe-
nung and Hassenzahl [227] proposed a life-cycle cost analysis to
compare energy storage technologies. Chacra et al. [228] used a
multiple objective optimization method to evaluate the economic
performance of energy storage technologies. Le and Nguyen [229]
16 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

provided an economic analysis to estimate the profitability of
energy storage systems. Ibrahim et al. [15] considered as the main
characteristics of the different electricity energy storage systems
and their field of application: storage capacity, available power,
efficiency, durability, self-discharge, autonomy and costs. Bo et al.
[230] evaluated several utility-scale energy storage technology
options for the wide area energy management system based on 13
criteria, which included energy efficiency, capacity, duration,
maturity of technology, lifetime and cost. Hall and Bain [190]
and Baker [14] addressed issues of energy storage technologies in
terms of lifetime, efficiency and power density and introduced the
current state and future developments of various types of energy
storage technologies. Peters and O′Malley [231] evaluated a variety
of technology options for storing renewable power by comparing
their financial and environmental benefits. Makarov et al. [17]
compared various available energy storage technologies for wide
area energy management system project. Hadjipaschalis et al. [8]
provided an overview of the current and future energy storage
technologies in terms of the most important technological char-
acteristics. They concluded that the choice of the ideal storage
technology to be used depends on a number of factors, which are
the amount of stored energy or power, the time of stored energy
retention or release, cost and environmental constraints. Chen
et al. [156] provided a comprehensive assessment and comparison
of energy storage technologies based on technical, economic and
environmental criteria. Other papers that address the comparison
of technologies in terms of characteristics, economics and applic-
able markets include Kluza [235], Beaudin et al. [4], Dunn et al.
[236], Rahman et al. [237], Gonzalez et al. [184], Evans et al. [171],
Hittinger et al. [238] and Daim et al. [7]. In addition to identifying
various factors which impact the adoption of these technologies,
Beaudin et al. [4], Dunn et al. [236], Rahman et al. [237], Gonzalez
et al. [184], Evans et al. [171] and Hittinger et al. [238] also
recognize potential of selective technologies which could offer
significant opportunities in the future integration of renewable
energy sources.
Table 9 summarizes the available data on technical, economic
and environmental criteria of different energy storage technolo-
gies collected from the literature. We note that the capital cost per
kWh of CAES, PHS, TES are lower than other energy storage
technologies. CAES has the lowest capital cost per kWh among
the developed technologies. Flywheels, supercapacitors and SMES
show the highest maximum efficiency, and fastest response times.
Fuel cell and TES have a low efficiency mainly due to large losses.
The cycle lives of the EES systems based on the electrical
technologies such as SMES, capacitor and supercapacitor are high.
Mechanical and thermal based energy storage systems including
PHS, CAES, flywheel, and TES have a long cycle life. The cycle
abilities of batteries, flow batteries and fuel cells are not as high as
other systems owing to chemical deterioration with the operating
time. In terms of environmental criteria [156], PHS, CAES, bat-
teries, flow batteries, and SMES have negative influences on the
environment due to different reasons:
– the construction of PHS could change the local ecological
system, which may have environmental consequences;
– CAES is based on conventional gas turbine technology and
involves combustion of fossil fuel hence emissions can be an
environmental concern;
– batteries have been suffering from the toxic remains/wastes for
long time;
– flow batteries have similar issues as other batteries;
– the strong magnetic field of SMES can be harmful to human
health.
It is important to note that the environmental impacts of
hydrogen as a storage medium are strongly dependent on the
manner through which the hydrogen is produced. Used in con-
junction with wind power, hydrogen production and reuse has low
environmental impacts. However, hydrogen produced through
electrolysis from other electricity sources, such as coal or natural
gas power plants, can have considerable environmental impacts
[232–234]. The analysis of Table 9 shows also that each energy
storage technology possesses different attributes and intended for
different applications. It is also evident that while a few technol-
ogies such as PHS and lead–acid battery have widely used for
decades, much research on new technologies has led to significant
improvements in these in recent years. The main technical barriers
include high manufacturing costs, high material costs, and a lack
of storage capacity of certain technologies.
5. Energy storage utility for renewable energy sources
Renewable sources of energy, such as wind and solar, have
gained attention over the last few decades as key components to
building a clean electric grid [239,240]. However, the widespread
acceptance and use of these technologies is hindered by their
inability to provide power when the wind is not blowing or the
sun is not shining. To help these intermittent renewable technol-
ogies become more competitive with fossil and hydroelectric
power plants, their output can be stabilized with the use of energy

Table 9
Comparison of technical characteristics of energy storage systems.

Efficiency Capacity Energy density Capital Capital Response Lifetime Maturity Environmental References
(%) (MW) (Wh/kg) ($/kW) ($/kWh) time (years) impact

TES 30–60 0–300 80–250 200–300 3–50 – 5–40 Developed Small [29,156]
PHS 75–85 100–5000 0.5–1.5 600–2000 5–100 Fast (ms) 40–60 Mature Negative [154,156,158]
CAES 50–89 3–400 30–60 400–2000 2–100 Fast 20–60 Developed Negative [149,156,161]
Very fast
Flywheel 93–95 0.25 10–30 350 5000  15 Demonstration Almost [156,165,171]
( o ms)
Pb–acid battery 70–90 0–40 30–50 300 400 Fast 5–15 Mature Negative [9,156,184,185]
Ni–Cd battery 60–65 0–40 50–75 500–1500 800–1500 Fast 10–20 Commercial Negative [187–193]
1000–
Na–S battery 80–90 0.05–8 150–240 300–500 Fast 10–15 Commercial Negative [156,171,187,195,196]
3000
Li-ion battery 85–90 0.1 75–200 4000 2500 Fast 5–15 Demonstration Negative [156,197]
Good
Fuel cells 20–50 0–50 800–10,000 500–1500 10–20 5–15 Developing Small [156,210]
( o 1 s)
Flow battery 75–85 0.3–15 10–50 600–1500 150–1000 Very fast 5–15 Developing Negative [156,213]
Capacitors 60–65 0.05 0.05–5 400 1000 Very fast 5 Developed Small [156]
Supercapacitors 90–95 0.3 2.5–15 300 2000 Very fast 20þ Developed Small [156,220,221]
SMES 95–98 0.1–10 0.5–5 300 10,000 Very fast 20þ Demonstration Benign [156,223–225]

Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
storage systems, which would allow electricity to be produced at
times of relatively low economic value and stored so that it can be
dispatched at a later time. These systems can also help make
renewable energy, whose power output cannot be controlled by
grid operators, smooth and dispatchable [239,240]. To provide
smooth and uninterrupted electricity supplies, it is necessary to
combine several different energy management strategies. Power
quality management, regulation and load shifting are necessary to
maximize the efficiency and reliability of the system. Each has
very different desirable characteristics and the most appropriate
energy storage systems will vary according to the desired role in
the power management strategy.
5.1. Power quality
Power quality refers to the presence of harmonic signals in bus
voltages and load currents, spikes and momentary low voltages,
and other issues of distortion that can impact the performance of
some sensitive pieces of equipment. Additionally this could cause
instability in transmission lines and result in loss of work output.
For instance, in industrial firms, transient fluctuations in power
can cause disruption in production processes. In order to mitigate
the effects of power fluctuations, an electrical storage system can
be used. Flywheel, batteries (excluding conventional lead–acid
batteries), SEMS, capacitor and supercapacitor have a fast response
(  milliseconds) and therefore can be utilized for this service
[156,210,241,242]. Batteries, flow batteries, fuel cells not only have
relatively fast response but also have relatively long discharge time
(hours), therefore they are more suitable for bridging power.
5.2. Regulation
A deviation of the frequency from the normal designed
frequency in the power plant can damage equipment. A rapid
drop in the frequency could also cause tripping of generating units,
shedding of loads, or even lead to a system collapse. This
imbalance between generation and load can be reduced by using
energy storage systems, since the stored energy would be used to
make up for a sudden reduction in supply. Frequency support
requires power to be delivered for a very short duration. Many
energy storage systems have characteristics that make them
suitable for both regulation and power quality application. Fly-
wheel, SMES, batteries and flow batteries might technically be able
to accomplish this service [4,184].
5.3. Load shifting
Due to the stochastic nature of renewable energy, the power plant
output would not match well with peak-demand periods, which
generally occur during weekdays from 9.00am to 5.00pm. This leads
to various technical and economic problems regarding the operation
of the electrical system. Technical issues, like voltage and frequency
variations due to the imbalances between electricity generation and
demand, limit the renewable technologies penetration into electrical
network. Load-shifting delays renewable energy delivery from non-
peak to peak utility demand. The energy is stored when the renew-
able energy is blowing, and then is released to the grid when
demand is high. This helps to smooth excess demand on the grid
and maximizes the value of renewable energy. The storage technol-
ogies effective for this application should be scalable and should be
able to provide energy in the time frame of minutes to 10 h [243].
The current technologies most suitable for this service are CAES, PHS,
batteries, flow batteries as well as hydrogen based energy storage
systems [244–246].
It is clear from the above discussion, that some technologies are
able to fill more than one role, for example batteries are fast
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
17
responding and can operate for hours, making them suitable for
power quality management, regulation and load shifting.
For maximum power reliability, a combination of storage technol-
ogies is necessary, including short and long-term storage [247–
249]. The first example should be an adiabatic CAES of which TES
is an essential part. A combination of CAES and flywheel or
pumped hydro and batteries, in order to get large-scale storage
on the one hand and quick response on the other, is also
promising.
6. Conclusions
In this paper, an updated review of the state of technology and
installations of several energy storage technologies were pre-
sented, and their various characteristics were analyzed.
 Sensible heat storage and latent heat storage are two major
techniques for thermal energy storage considered today for
different applications. Sensible heat storage wherein energy is
stored in liquid or solid materials is presently in an advanced
stage of development. Latent heat storage, on the other hand, is a
developing technology that has been found very promising in
recent times due to the several operational advantages it offers.
However, latent heat storage with PCM with seasonal storage
applications is not widespread in the public domain literature.
PCM, such as salt hydrates, paraffins, non-paraffins, eutectics and
solid state PCMs, have good potential for low temperature
thermal energy storage applications. A number of problems still
remain to be tackled before technically and economically favor-
able latent heat thermal energy storage systems can be made
available for widespread use. In spite of the fact that PCMs have
been investigated by several researchers, their thermophysical
properties such as density, specific heat and thermal conductivity
in the solid and liquid phases are lacking in the literature. A
discrepancy was found even between the literature and measured
thermophysical properties of technical grade PCM. Hence there is
a need to generate experimental data for these thermophysical
properties in the solid and liquid phases of PCMs in order to assist
the effective and appropriate design of thermal storage units.
 Thermochemical reactions and sorption processes still present
difficulties and the need to be further researched. Among these
difficulties are the identification of suitable materials; such
materials should offer good thermal stability and low cost.
Nevertheless, these technologies offer numerous alluring
advantages, the main one pertinent to seasonal storage being
the possibility to eliminate long-term self-discharge.
 Pumped hydro is the only type of storage with a well-
developed and highly reliable technology. The main problem
with this type of storage is that it is not easy to find sites
suitable for two reservoirs separated by at least 100 m, which
are not remote from the power grid and yet have suitable
physical characteristics. Massive civil engineering works are
required, and since these locations are often in areas of scenic
importance, great care has to be taken over the environmental
effects of such schemes.
 Among the developed technologies, CAES has the lowest cost
per kWh compared to all the other technologies. Compared
with pumped hydro technology, CAES has apparent advantages,
the air storage cavern can be in either hard rock or salt,
providing a wider choice of geological formation, and the
density of energy stored is much higher. There is one complica-
tion since air gets hotter when it is compressed, it must be
cooled before it is stored in order to prevent fracture of the rock
or creep of the salt. The stored air must then be reheated by
burning a certain amount of fuel. There is a need for thermal
18 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
storage. Against CAES there is a need to use premium fuels like
natural gas to power the gas turbine. It is possible to overcome
this drawback using synthetic fuels like hydrogen (generated
by renewable energy sources) instead of natural ones. Unfortu-
nately it is somewhat expensive in the foreseeable future, but
fuel price rises could make the concept less pessimistic.
 Flywheels are actually under active development, mainly for
vehicle applications and for impulse power generation for large
scale storage applications; it seems likely that they will be
provided in relatively small modules. They offer a number of
attractions for energy storage. First for short durations of the
charge–store–discharge cycle, they are highly efficient. Secondly,
due to limitations of their materials, they are only available in
relatively small modules. They do not constrain the number and
frequency of charge–discharge cycles, and they are environmen-
tally benign. Flywheels are capable of absorbing and releasing
energy quickly but even using advanced design they will remain
too expensive for large-scale power system applications.
 The rational for the development of new battery systems is an
increase of energy density, power density and lifetime under
the actual operating conditions of an application. It is now
usual to make distinction between power batteries capable of
delivering and storing short bursts of power and energy
batteries capable of delivering large amounts of energy, but at
a much lower rate. Battery research currently focuses on new
and improved materials and manufacturing processes as well
as on their operating conditions.
 In stationary applications commercially available lead acid
batteries will be difficult to replace for a long time to come
due to the fact that weight is not an important factor in such
applications. They are the cheapest energy storage systems
currently on the market, have a very high recycling rate and
fulfill most specifications. Research focuses on specific
improvements for specific applications and the overall system
design. Major improvements are still possible especially con-
cerning their lifetime. However the lifetime of lead acid
batteries in severe climatic conditions and remote outdoor
installations is unsatisfactory so that NiCd batteries are used
and other storage systems, e.g. lithium ion batteries may be
able to compete in the future.
 For portable applications the focus of the research is on the
lithium-ion and lithium polymer batteries and also nickel metal
hydride batteries. Nickel cadmium (NiCd) batteries are still the
battery of choice for applications requiring high power output
e.g. for power tools and some industrial applications. However,
the use of cadmium in industrial and consumer products poses
an environmental hazard and restricts research into new
applications and technical improvements.
 For electric and hybrid vehicles, the research focuses on NiMH,
lithium-ion and lithium–polymer batteries due to their high
energy density. Despite the much higher weight, lead acid
batteries are still considered a serious contender for hybrid
vehicles due to their much lower cost.
 Flow batteries are very interesting for long-term storage. They
can provide high-power and high-capacity discharge and can
cycle very rapidly and deeply, without significant self-
discharge. Due to the rapid response and the low operating
costs when idle, flow batteries are well suited for services such
as voltage and frequency regulation, load leveling, spinning
reserve and stabilization of the output of renewable energy
sources, e.g. peak power support at wind farms.
 Hydrogen-based storage technologies have a great potential for
long term storage applications, the main challenges for their
inclusion are related to the uncertainty of their economic
viability (due to high system costs and low energy efficiency)
and the dependence on high hydrogen market prices.
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
 Capacitors/supercapacitors have proven their performance in
demonstration projects and are now entering the commercial
stage. Target applications are uninterruptible power supplies
and hybrid vehicles. In uninterruptible power supplies applica-
tions they compete both with batteries and flywheels when
there is a high power requirement. Future research has to
concentrate on cost, manufacturing process and lowering
internal resistance.
 Superconducting magnetic energy storage technologies can
store electricity directly and therefore with high efficiency,
but they are still extremely expensive. SMES only seems to have
the potential to become economically attractive on a very large
scale. Key development areas are a reduction in cost, possibly
achieved by the design of high temperature superconducting
materials and low temperature power electronics. Costs are
also a function of the number of units which will be sold in the
future.
References
[1] International Energy Agency. World Energy Outlook-2006.IEA, 2007.
[2] A. Poullikkas, Implementation of distributed generation technologies in
isolated power systems, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 11 (1)
(2007) 30–56.
[3] F. Díaz-Gonzáleza, A. Sumper, O.G. Bellmunt, R.V. Robles, A review of energy
storage technologies for wind power applications, Renewable and Sustain-
able Energy Reviews 16 (2012) 2154–2171.
[4] M. Beaudin, H. Zareipour, A. Schellenberglabe, W. Rosehart, Energy storage
for mitigating the variability of renewable electricity sources: an updated
review, Energy for Sustainable Development 14 (2010) 302–314.
[5] D. Anderson, M. Leach, Harvesting and redistributing renewable energy: on
the role of gas and electricity grids to overcome intermittency through the
generation and storage of hydrogen, Energy Policy 32 (14) (2004) 1603–1614.
[6] R.M. Dell, D.A.J. Rand, Energy storage – a key technology for global energy
sustainability, Journal of Power Sources 100 (1–2) (2001) 2–17.
[7] T.U. Daim, X. Li, J. Kim, S. Simms, Evaluation of energy storage technologies
for integration with renewable electricity: quantifying expert opinions,
Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 3 (2012) 29–49.
[8] I. Hadjipaschalis, A. Poullikkas, V. Efthimiou, Overview of current and future
energy storage technologies for electric power applications, Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 1513–1522.
[9] N.K.C. Nair, N. Garimella, Battery energy storage systems: assessment for
small-scale renewable energy integration, Energy and Buildings 42 (2010)
2124–2130.
[10] I. Dincer, M.A. Rosen, Thermal Energy Storage, Systems and Applications,
Wiley, New York, 2002.
[11] G.A. Lane, Solar heat storage: latent heat materials, Background and Scientific
Principle, vol. 1, CRC Press, Inc, Boca Raton, FL, 1983.
[12] R. Zito, Energy Storage – A New Approach, Scrivener Publishing LLC, Wiley,
USA, 2010.
[13] R.A. Huggins, Energy Storage, Springer Science LLC, USA, 2010.
[14] J. Baker, New technology and possible advances in energy storage, Energy
Policy 36 (2008) 4368–4373.
[15] H. Ibrahim, Energy storage systems – characteristics and comparisons,
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 12 (2008) 1221–1250.
[16] F.A. Charca, P. Bastard, G. Fleury, R. Clavreul, Impact of energy storage costs
on economical performance in a distribution substation, IEEE Transactions
on Power Systems 20 (2005) 684–691.
[17] Y.V. Makarov, B. Yang, J.G. DeSteese, S. Lu, C.H. Miller, P. Nyeng, J. Ma, D.J.
Hammerstrom, V.V. Viswanathan, Wide Area Energy Storage and Manage-
ment System to Balance Intermittent Resources in Bonneville Power Admin-
istration and California ISO Control Areas, Specific Northwest National
Laboratory PNNL-17575, 2008.
[18] S.R. Vosen, J.O. Keller, Hybrid energy storage systems for stand-alone electric
power systems: optimization of system performance and cost through
control strategies, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 24 (1999)
1139–1156.
[19] S.M. Shoenung, Characteristics and Technologies for Long- vs. Short-Term
Energy Storage. United States Department of Energy, March 2001.
[20] D. Fernandes, F. Pitié, G. Cáceres, J. Baeyens, Thermal energy storage: how
previous findings determine current research priorities, Energy 39 (2012)
246–257.
[21] S. Van der Linden, Bulk energy storage potential in the USA, current
developments and future prospects, Energy 31 (15) (2006) 3446–3457.
[22] S.M. Hasnain, Review on sustainable thermal energy storage technologies,
part I: heat storage materials and techniques, Energy Conversion and
Management 39 (1998) 1127–1138.
 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
[23] S.M. Hasnain, Review on sustainable thermal energy storage technologies,
part II: cool thermal storage, Energy Conversion and Management 39 (1998)
1139–1153.
[24] T. Kousksou, A. Jamil, P. Bruel, Asymptotic behavior of a storage unit subject
to cyclic melting and solidification processes, Journal of Thermophysics and
Heat Transfer 24 (2010) 355–363.
[25] T. Kousksou, P. Bruel, Encapsulated phase change material under cyclic
pulsed heat load, International Journal of Refrigeration 33 (2010) 1648–1656.
[26] A. Sharma, V.V. Tyagi, C.R. Chen, D. Buddhi, Review on thermal energy
storage with phase change materials and applications, Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 318–345.
[27] R. Tamme, T. Bauer, J. Buschle, D. Laing, H. Müller-Steinhagen, W.
D. Steinmann, Latent heat storage above 120_C for applications in the
industrial process heat sector and solar power generation, International
Journal of Energy Research 32 (2008) 264–271.
[28] N. Maruoka, K. Sato, J. Yagi, T. Akiyama, Development of PCM for recovering
high temperature waste heat and utilization for producing hydrogen by
reforming reaction of methane, ISIJ International 42 (2002) 215–219.
[29] M. Medrano, A. Gil, I. Martorell, X. Potau, L.F. Cabeza, State of the art on high
temperature thermal energy storage for power generation. Part 2 – case
studies, Renewable Sustainable Energy Review 14 (2010) 56–72.
[30] D. Laing, C. Bahl, T. Bauer, D. Lehmann, W.D. Steinmann, Thermal energy
storage for direct steam generation, Solar Energy 85 (2011) 627–633.
[31] A.I. Fernandez, M. Martinez, M. Segarra, I. Martorell, L.F. Cabeza, Selection of
materials with potential in sensible thermal energy storage, Solar Energy
Materials & Solar Cells 94 (2010) 1723–1729.
[32] S.M. Eldighidy, Insulated solar storage tanks, Solar Energy 47 (1991)
253–268.
[33] I. Dincer, S. Dost, A perspective on thermal energy storage systems for solar
energy applications, International Journal of Energy Research 20 (1996)
547–557.
[34] H. Mehling, L.F. Cabeza, Heat and cold storage with PCM, An up to date
Introduction into Basics and Applications, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2008.
[35] B. Vasseur, Heat loss from and stability problems in a water filled density-
stratified rock cavern. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on
Subsurface Heat Storage in Theory and Practice, 1983.
[36] C.F. Hess, C.W. Miller, An experimental and numerical study of the effect of
the wall in a thermocline type cylindrical enclosure, Solar Energy 28 (2)
(1982) 145–152.
[37] G.A. Lane, Solar heat storage: latent heat materials, Technology, vol. II, CRC
Press, Inc, Boca Raton, FL, 1986.
[38] M.Y. Haller, C.A. Cruickshank, W. Streicher, S.J. Harrison, E. Andersen,
S. Furbo, Methods to determine stratification efficiency of thermal energy
storage processes – review and theoretical comparison, Solar Energy 83
(2009) 1847–1860.
[39] A. Castell, M. Medrano, C. Sole, L.F. Cabeza, Dimensionless numbers used to
characterize stratification in water tanks for discharging at low flow rates,
Renewable Energy 35 (2010) 2192–2199.
[40] T. Kousksou, J.P. Bédécarrats, F. Strub, J. Castaing-Lasvignottes, Numerical
simulation of fluid flow and heat transfer in a phase change thermal energy
storage, International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy 6 (2008)
143–158.
[41] T. Kousksou, J.P. Bédécarrats, J.P. Dumas, A. Mimet, Dynamic modelling of the
storage of an encapsulated ice tank, Applied Thermal Engineering 25 (2005)
1534–1548.
[42] N.J. Hewitt, Heat pumps and energy storage – the challenges of implementa-
tion, Applied Energy 89 (2012) 37–44.
[43] E. Andersen, S. Furbo, J. Fan, Multilayer fabric stratification pipes for solar
tanks, Solar Energy 81 (2007) 1219–1226.
[44] P. Pinel, C.A. Cruickshank, I.B. Morrison, A. Wills, A review of available
methods for seasonal storage of solar thermal energy in residential applica-
tions, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15 (2011) 3341–3359.
[45] D. Vanhoudt, J. Desmedt, J. Van Bael, N. Robeyn, H. Hoes, An aquifer thermal
storage system in a Belgian hospital: long-term experimental evaluation of
energy and cost savings, Energy and Buildings 43 (2011) 3657–3665.
[46] H. Kurt, F. Halici, A.K. Binark, Solar-pond conception: experimental and
theoretical studies, Energy Conversion and Management 41 (2000) 939–951.
[47] S. Bozdemir, R. Kayah, Mathematical modelling of solar ponds and compar-
ison with experimental data, Journal of Environmental Sciences 7 (3) (1987)
387–397.
[48] K. Kanayama, H. Inaba, H. Baba, T. Fukuda, Experiment and analysis of
practical scale solar-pond stabilized with a salt gradient, Solar Energy 46 (6)
(1993) 353–359.
[49] J.P. Leshuk, R.J. Zaworski, D.L. Styris, O.K. Harling, Solar-pond stability
experiment, Solar Energy 21 (1978) 237–244.
[50] Y. Keren, H. Rubin, J. Atkinson, M. Priven, G.A. Bemporad, Theoretical and
experimental comparison of conventional and advanced solar-pond perfor-
mance, Solar Energy 51 (4) (1993) 255–270.
[51] Y.L. Xiang, K. Kanayama, H. Baba, Spectral calculation of thermal perfor-
mance of a solar pond and comparison of the results with experiments,
Renewable Energy 20 (2000) 371–387.
[52] Y.L. Xiang, K. Kanayama, H. Baba, Y. Maeda, Experimental study about
erosion in a salt-gradient solar-pond, Renewable Energy 23 (2) (2001)
207–217.
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
19
[53] T.H. Kho, M.N.A. Hawlader, J.C. Ho, N.E. Wijeysundera, Design and perfor-
mance evaluation of a solar pond for industrial process-heating, Interna-
tional Journal of Solar Energy 10 (1991) 83–101.
[54] M.A. Tahat, Z.H. Kodah, S.D. Probert, H. Al-Tahaineh, Performance of a
portable mini solar-pond, Applied Energy 66 (4) (2000) 299–310.
[55] A. Kumar, V.V.N. Kishore, Construction and operation experience of a
6000 m2 solar-pond at Kutch, India Solar Energy 65 (4) (1999) 237–249.
[56] B.A. Jubran, H. Al-Abdali, S. Al-Hiddabi, H. Al-Hinai, Y. Zurigat, Numerical
modelling of convective layers in solar ponds, Solar Energy 77 (2004)
339–345.
[57] M. Karakilcik, K. Kıymac, I. Dince, Experimental and theoretical temperature
distributions in a solar pond, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
49 (2006) 825–835.
[58] M.R.I. Ramadan, A.A. El-Sebaii, S. Aboul-Enein, A.M. Khallaf, Experimental
testing of a shallow solar pond with continuous heat extraction, Energy and
Buildings 36 (2004) 955–964.
[59] A. Celestino, L. Erminia, M. Luca, A computational study of salt diffusion and
heat extraction in solar pond plants, Solar Energy 80 (2006) 1498–1508.
[60] A. Sakhrieh, A. Al-Salaymeh, Experimental and numerical investigations of
salt gradient solar pond under Jordanian climate conditions, Energy Con-
version and Management 65 (2013) 725–728.
[61] M. Yang, X. Yang, X. Yang, J. Ding, Heat transfer enhancement and perfor-
mance of the molten salt receiver of a solar power tower, Applied Energy 87
(2010) 2808–2811.
[62] I. Dincer, S. Dost, X. Li, Performance analysis of sensible heat storage systems
for thermal applications, International Journal of Energy Research 21 (1997)
1157–1171.
[63] D. Kearney, B. Kelly, U. Herrmann, R. Cable, J. Pacheco, R. Mahoney,
Engineering aspects of a molten salt heat transfer fluid in a trough solar
field, Energy 29 (2004) 861–870.
[64] D. Kearney, U. Herrmann, P. Nava, B. Kelly, R. Mahoney, J. Pacheco, Assess-
ment of a molten salt heat transfer fluid in a parabolic trough solar field,
Journal of Solar Energy Engineering – Transactions of the ASME 125 (2003)
170–177.
[65] Loyd Energy. Loyd Energy website. Available from: 〈http://www.lloydenergy.
com/heatstorage.htm〉.
[66] Pilkington Solar International GmbH. Survey of Thermal Storage for Parabolic
Trough Power Plants. Report prepared for National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, 2000.
[67] K. Matsui, H. Koizumi, Concrete plate heat storage units for solar air systems.
In: Congress of the International Solar Energy Society, 1989.
[68] A.J.N. Khalifa, E.F. Abbas, A comparative performance study of some thermal
storage materials used for solar space heating, Energy and Buildings 41 (4)
(2009) 407–415.
[69] T. El Rhafiki, T. Kousksou, A. Jamil, S. Jegadheeswaran, S.D. Pohekar,
Y. Zeraouli, Crystallyzation of PCMs inside an emulsion: supercooling
phenomenon, Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 95 (2011) 2588–2597.
[70] T. Kousksou, F. Strub, J. Castaing-Lasvignottes, A. Jamil, J.P. Bédécarrats,
Second law analysis of latent thermal storage for solar system, Solar Energy
Materials and Solar Cells 91 (2007) 1275–1281.
[71] T. Kousksou, T. Elrhafiki, A. Arid, E. Schall, Y. Zeraouli, Power, efficiency and
irreversibility analysis of latent energy system, Journal of Thermophysics and
Heat Transfer 22 (2008) 234–239.
[72] N. Sarier, E. Onder, Organic phase change materials and their textile
applications: an overview, Thermochimica Acta 540 (2012) 7–60.
[73] V.H. Morcos, Investigation of a latent heat thermal energy storage system,
Solar and Wind Technology 7 (1990) 197–202.
[74] I. Sadasuke, M. Naokatsu, Heat transfer enhancement by fins in latent heat
thermal energy devices, Solar Engineering, ASME (1991) 223–228.
[75] M. Costa, D. Buddhi, A. Oliva, Numerical simulation of a latent heat thermal
energy storage system with enhanced heat conduction, Energy Conversion
and Management 39 (1998) 319–330.
[76] P.V. Padmanabhan, M.V. Murthy, Outward phase change in a cylindrical
annulus with axial fins on the inner tube, International Journal of Heat and
Mass Transfer 29 (1986) 1855–1868.
[77] C. Bauer, R. Wirtz, Thermal characteristics of a compact, passive thermal
energy storage device. In: Proceedings of the 2000 ASME IMECE, Orlando,
USA, 2000.
[78] M. Kamimoto, Y. Abe, K. Kanari, S. Swata, T. Tani, T. Ozawa, Heat transfer in
latent heat thermal storage units using pentarythritol slurry, thermal energy
storage. World Congress of Chemical Engineering, Tokyo, Japan, 1986.
[79] H. Mehling, S. Hiebler, F. Ziegler, Latent heat storage using a PCM–graphite
composite material: advantages and potential applications. In: Proceedings of
the 4th Workshop of IEA ECES IA Annex 10, Bendiktbeuern, Germany, 1999.
[80] J. Fukai, Y. Morozumi, Y. Hamada, O. Miyatake, Transient response of thermal
energy storage unit using carbon fibers as thermal conductivity promoter. In:
Proceedings of the 3rd European Thermal Science Conference, Pisa, Italy,
2000.
[81] X. Py, S. Olives, S. Mauran, Paraffin/porous graphite matrix composite as a
high and constant power thermal storage material, International Journal of
Heat and Mass Transfer 44 (2001) 2727–2737.
[82] K. Skogsberg, B. Nordell, The Sundsvall hospital snow storage, Cold Region
Science and Technology 32 (2001) 63–70.
[83] G.A. Lane, Encapsulation of heat of fusion storage materials. In: Proceedings
of the 2nd Southeastern Conference on Application of Solar Energy, 1976,
pp. 442–450.
20 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
[84] A. Abhat, Low temperature latent heat thermal energy storage: heat storage
materials, Solar Energy 30 (1983) 313–332.
[85] B. Zalba, J. MaMarin, L.F. Cabeza, H. Mehling, Review on thermal energy
storage with phase change: materials, heat transfer analysis and applica-
tions, Applied Thermal Engineering 23 (2003) 251–283.
[86] M.M. Farid, A.M. Khudhair, S.A.K. Razack, S. Al-Hallaj, A review on phase
change energy storage: materials and applications, Energy Conversion and
Management 45 (2004) 1597–1615.
[87] S.D. Sharma, K. Sagara, Latent heat storage materials and systems: a review,
International Journal of Green Energy 2 (2007) 1–56.
[88] G.A. Lane, Low temperature heat storage with phase change materials,
International Journal of Ambient Energy 1 (1980) 155–168.
[89] H.G. Lorsch, K.W. Kauffman, J.C. Denton, Thermal energy storage for heating
and air conditioning, future energy production system, Heat Mass Transfer
Processes 1 (1976) 69–85.
[90] W. Humphries, E. Griggs, A Design Handbook for Phase Change Thermal
Control and Energy Storage Devices, NASA Technical Paper 1074, NASA,
Washington DC, 1977.
[91] F. Regin, S.C. Solanki, J.S. Saini, Heat transfer characteristics of thermal energy
storage system using PCM capsules: a review, Renewable & Sustainable
Energy Reviews 12 (2008) 2438–2458.
[92] F. Agyenim, N. Hewitt, P. Eames, M. Smyth, A review of materials heat
transfer and phase change problem formulation for latent heat thermal
energy storage systems (LHTESS), Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews
14 (2010) 615–628.
[93] S. Jegadheeswaran, S.D. Pohekar, T. Kousksou, Exergy based performance
evaluation of latent heat thermal storage system: a review, Renewable &
Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 2580–2595.
[94] E. Oró, A. De Gracia, A. Castell, M.M. Farid, L.F. Cabeza, Review on phase
change materials (PCMs) for cold thermal energy storage applications,
Applied Energy 99 (2012) 513–533.
[95] L.F. Cabeza, A. Castell, C. Barreneche, A. Gracia, A.I. Fernández, Materials used
as PCM in thermal energy storage in buildings: a review, Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews 15 (3) (2011) 1675–1695.
[96] A. Kurklu, Energy storage applications in greenhouse by means of phase
change materials (PCMs): a review, Renewable Energy 13 (1998) 89–103.
[97] G.S. Parks, S.B. Thomas, W.A. Gilkey, Journal of Physical Chemistry 34 (1930)
2028-2034.
[98] D.V. Hale, M.J. Hoover, M.J. O′Neill, Phase Change Materials Hand-Book,
NASA CR-61363, Marshal Space Flight Center, AL, 1971, 〈http://hdl.handle.
net/2060/19720012306〉.
[99] J.F. Messerly, Low-temperature thermal data for n-pentane, n-heptadecane,
and n-octadecane. Revised thermodynamic functions for the n-alkanes, C5–
C18, Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data 12 (1967) 338–346.
[100] M. Kenisarin, K. Mahkamov, Solar energy storage using phase change
materials, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 11 (2007) 1913–1965.
[101] K.K. Pillai, B.J. Brinkworth, The storage of low-grade thermal energy using
phase change materials, Applied Energy 2 (1976) 205–216.
[102] M. Telkes, Thermal energy storage in salt hydrates, Solar Energy Materials 2
(1980) 381–393.
[103] B. Carlsson, G. Wettermark, Heat transfer properties of a heat of fusion store
based on CaCl2_6H2O, Solar Energy 24 (1980) 239–247.
[104] E. Osterman, V.V. Tyagi, V. Butala, N.A. Rahim, U. Stritih, Review of PCM based
cooling technologies for buildings, Energy and Buildings 49 (2012) 37–49.
[105] S. Mondal, Phase change materials for smart textiles – an overview, Applied
Thermal Engineering 28 (2008) 1536–1550.
[106] M. Delgado, A. Lazaro, J. Mazo, B. Zalba, Review on phase change material
emulsions and microencapsulated phase change material slurries: materials
heat transfer studies and applications, Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews 16 (1) (2012) 253–273.
[107] Cristopia Energy Systems, 2004. Available from: /〈http://www.cristopia.com〉.
[108] TEAP Energy Products, 2004. Available from: /〈http://www.teappcm.com〉.
[109] Rubitherm GmbH, 2004. Available from: /〈http://www.rubitherm.de〉.
[110] EPS Ltd., 2004. Environment Processing System Limited. Available from:
/〈http://www.epsltd.co.uk〉.
[111] 〈http://www.mfc.co.jp〉.
[112] 〈http://www.climator.com〉.
[113] PCM thermal solutions (USA), 2004. Available from: /〈www.pcm-solutions.com〉.
[114] S. Jegadheeswaran, S.D. Pohekar, T. Kousksou, Investigations on thermal
storage systems containing micron-sized conducting particles dispersed in a
phase change material, Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy 12
(2012) 1–5.
[115] L. Ventola, T. Calvet, M.A. Cuevas-Diarte, V. Metivaud, D. Mondieig, H. Oonk,
From concept to application. A new phase change material for thermal
protection at  11 1C, Materials Research Innovations 6 (2002) 284–290.
[116] S. Revankar, Purdue University News Bulletin, 2001. Available from: 〈http://
news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/010607.Revankar.solar.html〉.
[117] C. Barreneche, A. Solé, L. Miró, I. Martorell, A. Inés Fernández, L.F. Cabeza,
Study on differential scanning calorimetry analysis with two operation
modes and organic and inorganic phase change material (PCM), Thermo-
chimica Acta 553 (2013) 23–26.
[118] D. Buddhi, R.L. Sawhney, P.N. Seghal, N.K. Bansal, A simplification of the
differential thermal analysis method to determine the latent heat of fusion of
phase change materials, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 20 (1987)
1601–1605.
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
[119] T. Kousksou, A. Jamil, Y. Zeraouli, Use of multiple heating rate DSC to
determine the specific heat capacity, High Temperatures High Pressures 39
(2) (2010) 165–179.
[120] T. Kousksou, T. El Rhafiki, M. Mahdaoui, P. Bruel, Y. Zeraouli, Crystallization of
supercooled PCMs inside emulsions: DSC applications, Solar Energy Materi-
als and Solar Cells 107 (2012) 28–36.
[121] T. Kousksou, A. Jamil, T. El Rhafiki, Y. Zeraouli, Paraffin wax mixtures as phase
change materials, Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 94 (2010) 2158–2165.
[122] T. Kousksou, A. Jamil, Y. Zeraouli, J.P. Dumas, Equilibrium liquidus tempera-
tures of binary mixtures from differential scanning calorimetry, Chemical
Engineering Science 62 (2007) 6516–6523.
[123] C. Bales, P. Gantenbein, D. Jaenig, H. Kerskes, K. Vissher, Final Report of
Subtask B – Chemical and Sorption Storage. Report B7 – IEA SHC Task 32.
International Energy Association, 2008.
[124] A. Hauer, Sorption theory for thermal energy storage, Thermal Energy
Storage for Sustainable Energy Consumption, Springer, Netherlands (2007)
393–408.
[125] V.J. Inglezakis, S. Poulopoulos, Adsorption, Ion Exchange and Catalysis:
Design of Operations and Environmental Applications, Elsevier, 2006.
[126] N.C. Srivastava, I.W. Eames, A review of adsorbents and adsorbates in solid–
vapour adsorption heat pump systems, Applied Thermal Engineering 18 (9–
10) (1998) 707–714.
[127] L.W. Wang, R.Z. Wang, R.G. Oliveira, A review on adsorption working pairs for
refrigeration, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (3) (2009)
518–534.
[128] R. Aveyard, D.A. Haydon, An Introduction to the Principles of Surface
Chemistry, CUP Archive, Cambridge University, 1973.
[129] A. Mandelis, C. Christofides, Physics and Chemistry and Technology of Solid
State Gas Sensor Devices, illustrated ed., Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1993.
[130] H. Kawasaki, T. Watanabe, A. Kanzawa, Proposal of a chemical heat pump
with paraldehyde depolymerization for cooling system, Applied Thermal
Engineering 19 (2) (1999) 133–143.
[131] K.E. N′Tsoukpoe, H. Liu, N.L. Pierrès, L. Luo, A review on long term sorption
solar energy storage, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009)
2385–2396.
[132] G. Faninger, Thermal Energy Storage, 2004 etn.wsr.ac.at.
[133] Y. Kat, Chemical energy conversion technologies for efficient energy use,
Thermal energy storage for sustainable energy consumption, Springer,
Netherlands (2007) 377–391.
[134] C. Bales, Thermal properties of materials for thermo-chemical storage of solar
heat; 2005:18. www.iea-shc.org.
[135] A. Hauer, Sorption storages for solar thermal energy – possibilities and limits.
In: Proceedings of the Eurosun 2008, 1st International Conference on Solar
Heating, Cooling and Buildings, 2008.
[136] R.D. Boer, W. Haije, J. Veldhuis, S. Smeding, Solid sorption cooling with
integrated storage: the SWEAT prototype. In: Proceedings of the 3rd Inter-
national Heat Powered Cycles Conference – HPC, 2004.
[137] R.V.D. Weber, Long-term heat storage with NaOH, Vacuum 82 (7) (2008)
708–716.
[138] J.C. Hadorn, IEA solar heating and cooling programme - Task 32: advanced
storage concepts for solar and low energy buildings. In: Proceedings of ECO-
STOCK, Richard Stockton College, New Jersey, 31 May–2 June, 2006. 〈http://
www.iea-shc.org〉.
[139] J.C. Gores, A. Castell, L.F. Cabeza, Thermochemical energy storage and
conversion: a state of the art review of the experimental research under
practical conditions, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 16 (2012)
5207–5224.
[140] International Energy Agency (IEA). SHC Task 32 – Advanced Storage Concepts
for Solar and Low Energy Buildings. Available from: 〈http://www.ieashc.org/
task32〉.
[141] C. Bales, P. Gantenbein, D. Jaenig, R. Weber, Laboratory Prototypes of Thermo-
Chemical and Sorption Storage Units. Report B3 - IEA SHC Task 32. Interna-
tional Energy Association, 2007.
[142] C. Bales, P. Gantenbein, A. Hauer, H.M. Henning, D. Jaenig, H. Kerskes,
Thermal Properties of Materials for Thermo-Chemical Storage of Solar Heat.
Report B2 - IEA SHC Task32. International Energy Association, 2005.
[143] D. Mugnier, V. Goetz, Energy storage comparison of sorption systems for
cooling and refrigeration, Solar Energy 71 (1) (2001) 47–55.
[144] A.H. Zondag, A. Kalbasenka, M. Van Essen, First studies in reactor concepts
for thermochemical storage. In: Proceedings of the Eurosun 2008, 1st
International Conference on Solar Heating, Cooling and Buildings, 2008.
[145] D. Jaehnig, R. Hausner,W. Wagner, C. Isaksson, Thermo-chemical storage for
solar space heating in single-family house. In: Proceedings of ECOSTOCK
Conference, May 2006.
[146] G. Wettermark, Thermochemical energy storage. In: Proceedings of the NATO
Advanced Study Institute on Energy Storage Systems, 1989, vol. 167, pp. 673–681.
[147] A.A. Haji, Thermochemical Energy Storage Systems: Modelling, Analysis and
Design, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada, 2010.
[148] N.L. Panwar, S.C. Kaushik, S. Kothari, Role of renewable energy sources in
environmental protection: a review, Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews 15 (2011) 1513–1524.
[149] P. Denholm, E. Ela, B. Kirby, M. Milligan, Role of Energy Storage with
Renewable Electricity Generation. NREL/TP-6A2e47187. National Renewable
Energy Laboratory, 2010.
 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
[150] S. Schoenung, J. Eyer, J. Iannucci, S. Horgan, Energy storage for a competitive
power market, Annual Reviews of Energy and Environment 21 (1996)
347–370.
[151] J. Baker, New technology and possible advances in energy storage, Energy
Policy 12 (36) (2008) 4368–4373.
[152] J. Ahearne, Storage of Electric Energy. Report on Research and Development
of Energy Technologies. International Union of Pure and Applied Physics,
2004, pp. 76–86. Available from: 〈http://www.iupap.org/wg/energy/report-a.
pdf〉 [2007-03-20]).
[153] B. Dursun, B. Alboyaci, The contribution of wind-hydro pumped storage
systems in meeting Turkey′s electric energy demand, Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews 14 (2010) 1979–1988.
[154] J.K. Kaldellis, D. Zafirakis, Optimum energy storage techniques for the
improvement of renewable energy sources-based electricity generation
economic efficiency, Energy 32 (2007) 2295–2305.
[155] First Hydro Company website, 〈http://www.fhc.co.uk/pumped_storage.htm〉.
[156] H.S. Chen, T.N. Cong, W. Yang, C.Q. Tan, Y.L. Li, Y.L. Ding, Progress in electrical
energy storage system: a critical review, Progress in Natural Science 19 (3)
(2009) 291–312.
[157] P. Denholm, G.L. Kulcinski, Life cycle energy requirements and greenhouse
gas emissions from large scale energy storage systems, Energy Conversion
and Management 45 (2004) 2153–2172.
[158] P. Denholm, T. Holloway, Improved accounting of emissions from utility
energy storage system operation, Environmental Science & Technology 39
(2005) 9016–9022.
[159] J. Jewitt, Impact of CAES on Wind in Tx, OK and NM, In: Annual Peer Review
Meeting of DOE Energy Storage Systems Research, San Francisco, USA,
October 2005, vol. 20, pp. 1–16.
[160] E. Drury, P. Denholm, R. Sioshansi, The value of compressed air energy
storage in energy and reserve markets, Energy 36 (2011) 4959–4973.
[161] S. Succar, R. Williams, Compressed Air Energy Storage: Theory, Resources,
and Applications for Wind Power. Tech. rep, Princeton Environmental
Institute, 2008.
[162] D. Swider, Compressed air energy storage in an electricity system with
significant wind power generation, Transactions on Energy Conversion 22 (1)
(2007) 95–102.
[163] I.B. Weinstock, Recent advances in the US Department of Energy′s energy
storage technology research and development programs for hybrid electric
and electric vehicles 110 (2002) 471–474Journal of Power Sources 110 (2002)
471–474.
[164] X. Dai, Z. Deng, G. Liu, X. Tang, F. Zhang, Z. Deng, Review on advanced
flywheel energy storage system with large scale, Transactions of China
Electrotechnical Society 26 (2011) 113–140.
[165] H. Liu, J. Jiang, Flywheel energy storage – an upswing technology for energy
sustainability, Energy and Buildings 39 (2007) 599–604.
[166] B. Plater, J.A. Andrews, Advances in flywheel Energy-Storage Systems. Power-
Pulse.net by Darnell.Com Inc 2001.
[167] B. Bolund, H. Bernhoff, M. Leijion, Flywheel energy and power storage
systems, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews 32 (2007) 327–333.
[168] R Sebastian, R. Pena Alzola, Flywheel energy storage systems: review and
simulation for an isolated wind power system, Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews 16 (2012) 6803–6813.
[169] 〈http://www.activepower.com〉.
[170] M.F. Ashby, Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, Elsevier Butterworth-
Heinemann, USA, 2005.
[171] A. Evans, V. Strezov, T.J. Evans, Assessment of utility energy storage options
for increased renewable energy penetration, Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews 16 (2012) 4141–4147.
[172] L. El Ouatani, R. Dedryvère, J.B. Ledeuil, C. Siret, P. Biensan, J. Desbrières,
D. Gonbeau, Surface film formation on a carbonaceous electrode: influence of
the binder chemistry, Journal of Power Sources 189 (2009) 72–80.
[173] F.W. Fergus, Recent developments in cathode materials for lithium ion
batteries, Journal of Power Sources 195 (2010) 939–954.
[174] C.D. Parker, Lead–acid battery energy-storage systems for electricity supply
networks, Journal of Power Sources 1000 (2001) 18–28.
[175] G.L. Soloveichik, Battery technologies for large scale stationary energy storage,
Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering 2 (2011) 503–527.
[176] M. Anouti, Y.R. Dougassa, C. Tessier, L. El Ouatani, J. Jacquemin, Low pressure
carbon dioxide solubility in pure electrolyte solvents for lithium-ion batteries
as a function of temperature. Measurement and prediction, Journal of
Chemical Thermodynamics 50 (2012) 71–79.
[177] F.A. Farret, M.G. Simoes, Integration of Alternatives Sources of Energy, Wiley-
Interscience, New York, 2006.
[178] J.N. Baker, A. Collinson, Electrical energy storage at the turn of the millen-
nium, Power Engineering Journal 6 (1999) 107–112.
[179] F.R. Mclarnon, E.J. Cairns, Energy storage, Annual Review of Energy 14 (1989)
241–271.
[180] J. Kondoh, I. Ishii, H. Yamaguchi, Electrical energy storage systems for energy
networks, Energy Conversion and Management 14 (2000) 1863–1874.
[181] E.C. Kluiters, D. Schmal, W.R. Ter Veen, Testing of a sodium/nickel chloride
(ZEBRA) battery for electric propulsion of ships and vehicles, Journal of
Power Sources 80 (1999) 261–264.
[182] R. Bradford, Capturing grid power, IEEE Transactions on Power and Energy
Magazine 7 (2009) 32–41.
[183] A.P. Karpinski, B. Makovestki, S.J. Russell, Silver–zinc: status of technology
and applications, Journal of Power Sources 80 (1999) 53–60.
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
21
[184] F.D. Gonzalez, A. Sumper, O.G. Bellmunt, R.V. Robles, A review of energy
storage technologies for wind power applications, Renewable and Sustain-
able Energy Reviews 16 (2012) 2154–2171.
[185] McDowall, Integrating energy storage with wind power in weak electricity
grids, Journal of Power Sources 162 (2006) 959–964.
[186] Y. Moriokaa, S. Narukawab, T. Itou, State of the art of alkaline rechargeable
batteries, Journal of Power Sources 1000 (2001) 107–116.
[187] M. Broussely, G. Pistoia, Industrial Applications of Batteries. From Cars to
Aerospace and Energy Storage, Elsevier B.V, Amsterdam, 2007.
[188] D.Y. Goswami, F. Kreith, Energy conversion, CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group,
Florida, 2007.
[189] V.G. Lacerda, A.B. Mageste, I.J.B. Santos, L.H. Mendes, Separation of Cd and Ni
from NiCd batteries by an environmentally safe methodology employing
aqueous two-phase systems, Journal of Power Sources 193 (2009) 908–913.
[190] P.J. Hall, E.J. Bain, Energy storage technologies and electricity generation,
Energy Policy 36 (12) (2008) 4352–4355.
[191] K.C. Divya, J. Ostergaard, Battery energy storage technology for power
systems – an overview, Electric Power Systems Research 79 (4) (2009)
511–520.
[192] T.R. Crompton, Battery Reference Book, third ed., Newnes, Oxford, 2000.
[193] P. Ruetschi, F. Meli, J Desilvestro, Nickel-metal hybride batteries – the
preferred batteries of the future? Journal of Power Sources 57 (1–2) (1995)
85–91.
[194] Z. Wen, J. Cao, Z. Gu, X. Xu, F. Zhang, Z. Lin, Research on sodium sulfur battery
for energy storage, Solid State Ionics 179 (2008) 1697–1701.
[195] NGK Insulators Ltd. Website. 〈http://www.ngk.co.jp/english/〉.
[196] A. Bito, Overview of the sodium–sulfur battery for the IEEE Stationary Battery
Committee. In: IEEE Power Engineering Society General Meeting, 2005.
[197] A.G. Ritchie, Recent developments and future prospects for lithium recharge-
able batteries, Journal of Power Sources 96 (2001) 1–4.
[198] K. Zaghib, M. Dontignya, A. Guerfi, P. Charest, I. Rodrigues, A. Mauger, Safe
and fast charging Li-ion battery with long shelf life for power applications,
Journal of Power Sources 196 (2011) 3949–3954.
[199] P.G. Bruce, Energy storage beyond the horizon: rechargeable lithium bat-
teries, Solid State Ionics 179 (2008) 752–760.
[200] C. Christodoulou, G. Karagiorgis, A. Poullikkas, N. Karagiorgis, N. Hadjiargyr-
iou, Green electricity production by a grid connected H2/fuel cell in Cyprus.
In: Proceedings of the Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency,
2007.
[201] C.J. Winter, Hydrogen energy – abundant, efficient, clean: a debate over the
energy system of change, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 34
(2009) 1–52.
[202] S.A. Sherif, F. Barbir, T.N. Veziroglu, Wind energy and the hydrogen economy
– review of the technology, Solar Energy 78 (2005) 647–660.
[203] D.Y. Goswami, H.A. Ingley, N. Goel, S.T. Mirabal, Hydrogen production,
Advances in Solar Energy 15 (2003) 405–458.
[204] W. Smith, The role of fuel cells in energy storage, Journal of Power Sources 86
(2000) 74–83.
[205] M. Conte, A. Iacobazzi, M. Ronchetti, R. Vellone, Hydrogen economy for a
sustainable development: state of the art and technological perspectives,
Journal of Power Sources 100 (2001) 171–187.
[206] A. Yilanci, I. Dincer, H.K. Ozturk, A review on solar-hydrogen/fuel cell hybrid
energy systems for stationary applications, Progress in Energy and Combus-
tion Science 35 (2009) 231–244.
[207] E. Varkaraki, N. Lymberopoulos, E. Zoulias, D. Guichardot, G. Poli, Hydrogen
based uninterruptible power supply, International Journal of Hydrogen
Energy 32 (2007) 1589–1596.
[208] D. Mori, K. Hirose, Recent challenges of hydrogen storage technologies for
fuel cell vehicles, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 34 (2009)
4569–4574.
[209] M.D. Paster, R.K. Ahluwalia, G. Berry, A. Elgowainy, S. Lasher, K. McKenney,
M. Gardiner, Hydrogen storage technologies options for fuel cell vehicles:
well-to-wheel costs, energy efficiencies, and greenhouse gas emissions,
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 36 (2011) 14534–14551.
[210] A. Rabiee, H. Khorramdel, J. Aghaei, A review of energy storage systems in
microgrids with wind turbines, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
18 (2013) 316–326.
[211] 〈http://www.leonardo-energy.org〉.
[212] D.P. Scamman, W.R. Gavin, E.P.L. Roberts, Numerical modelling of a bromide
polysulphide redox flow battery. Part 1: modelling approach and validation
for a pilot-scale system, Journal of Power Sources 189 (2009) 1220–1230.
[213] C. Ponce-de-Leon, A.F. Ferre, J.G. Carcia, D.A. Szanto, F.C. Walsh, Redox flow
cells for energy conversion, Journal of Power Sources 160 (2006) 716–732.
[214] T. Nguyen, R.F. Savinell, Flow batteries, Electrochemical Society Interface 19
(2010) 54–56.
[215] S.J. Kazempour, M. Parsa Moghaddam, M.R. Haghifam, G.R. Yousefi, Electric
energy storage systems in a market-based economy: comparison of emerging
and traditional technologies, Renewable Energy 34 (2009) 2630–2639.
[216] T.T. Yamamura, X. Wu, S. Ohta, K. Shirasaki, H. Sakuraba, I. Satoh, Vanadium
solid-salt battery: solid state with two redox couples, Journal of Power
Sources 196 (2011) 4003–4073.
[217] Price A., Technologies for energy storage – present and future: flow batteries.
In: IEEE Power Engineering Society Summer Meeting, 2000, pp. 1541–1545.
[218] P. Ribeiro, B. Johnson, M. Crow, A. Arsoy, Y. Liu, Energy storage systems for
advanced power applications. In: Proceedings of IEEE, 2001, vol. 89, No. 12,
pp. 1744–1756.
22 T. Kousksou et al. / Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
[219] 〈http://www.electricitystorage.org/tech/technologies_technologies.htm〉.
[220] F. Rafik, H. Gualous, R. Gallay, A. Crausaz, A. Berthon, Frequency, thermal and
voltage supercapacitor characterization and modeling, Journal of Power
Sources 165 (2007) 928–934.
[221] H. Gualous, D. Bouquain, A. Berthon, J.M. Kauffmann, Experimental study of
supercapacitor serial resistance and capacitance variations with temperature,
Journal of Power Sources 123 (2003) 86–93.
[222] A. Kusko, J. Dedad, Short-term and long-term energy storage methods for
standby electric power systems, IEEE Industry Applications Magazine 19
(2007) 66–72.
[223] K.E. Nielsen, M. Molinas, Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES)
in power systems with renewable energy sources. In: IEEE International
Symposium on Industrial Electronics, 2010, pp. 2487–2492.
[224] N. Koshizuka, F. Ishikawa, H. Nasu, Progress of superconducting bearing
technologies for flywheel energy storage systems, Physica C 386 (2003)
444–450.
[225] W.F. Pickard, Q.A. Shen, N.J. Hansing, Parking the power: strategies and
physical limitations for bulk energy storage in supply demand matching on a
grid whose input power is provided by intermittent sources, Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (2009) 1934–1945.
[226] K. Cheung, S. Cheung, R. De Silva, M. Juvonen, R. Singh, J. Woo, Large Scale
Energy Storage Systems. Imperial College London, ISE2 2002/2003.
[227] S.M. Schoenung, W.V. Hassenzahl, Long vs. Short-Term Energy Storage
Technologies Analysis – A Life Cycle Cost Study, Sandia National Laboratories,
Albuquerque SAND2003–2783.
[228] F.A. Chacra, P. Bastard, G. Fleury, R. Clavreul, Impact of energy storage costs
on economical performance in a distribution substation, IEEE Transactions
on Power Systems 20 (2005) 684–691.
[229] H.T. Le, T.Q. Nguyen, Sizing energy storage systems for wind power firming:
an analytical approach and a cost–benefit analysis. In: Power and Energy
Society General Meeting – Conversion and Delivery of Electrical Energy in
the 21st Century, 2008, pp. 1–8.
[230] Bo Y., Makarov Y., Desteese J., Viswanathan V., Nyeng P., McManus B., Pease J.,
2008. On the use of energy storage technologies for regulation services in
electric power systems with significant penetration of wind energy. In:
Proceedings of European Electricity Market. 5th International Conference on
EEM 2008, May. 1–6.
[231] Peters R., O′Malley L., June 2008. Strong Renewable Power. The Pembina
Institute. Available from: 〈http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/StoringRenewa
blePower-jun17.pdf〉.
[232] T. Lipman, D.M. Kammen, J. Ogden, D. Sperling, An Integrated Hydrogen
Vision for California, prepared for the Kirsch Foundation, Renewable and
Appropriate Energy Laboratory, UC Berkeley, 2004.
[233] D. Milborrow, L. Harrison, Hydrogen Myths and Renewables Reality, Wind
power Monthly (2003) 47–53. (May).
Please cite this article as: T. Kousksou, et al., Energy storage: Applications and challenges, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells (2013),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.015i
[234] H. Barthélémy, Hydrogen storage – industrial prospective, International
Journal of Hydrogen Energy 37 (2012) 17364–17372.
[235] J. Kluza, Jerome. Status of Grid Scale Energy Storage and Strategies for
Accelerating Cost-effective Deployment, 2009.〈http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/
55210〉.
[236] B. Dunn, H. Kamath, J.M. Tarascon, Electrical Energy Storage for the Grid: a
Battery of Choices. Department of Materials Science and Engineering,
University of California, 2011.
[237] F. Rahman, S. Rehman, M.A. Abdul-Majeed, Overview of energy storage
systems for storing electricity from renewable energy sources in Saudi
Arabia, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 16 (2012) 274–283.
[238] E. Hittinger, J.F. Whitacre, J. Apt, What properties of grid energy storage are
most valuable? Journal of Power Sources 206 (2012) 436–449.
[239] A.D. Şahin, Progress and recent trends in wind energy, Progress in Energy
and Combustion Science 30 (2004) 501–543.
[240] Ş. Zekai, Solar energy in progress and future research trends, Progress in
Energy and Combustion Science 30 (2004) 367–416.
[241] R. Walawalkar, J. Apt, R. Mancini, Economics of electric energy storage for
energy arbitrage and regulation in New York, Energy Policy 35 (4) (2007)
2558–2568.
[242] S. Sundararagavan, E. Baker, Evaluating energy storage technologies for wind
power integration, Solar Energy 86 (2012) 2707–2717.
[243] J. Barton, D. Infield, Energy storage and its use with intermittent renewable
energy, Transactions on Energy Conversion 19 (2) (2004) 441–448.
[244] K. Agbossou, M. Kolhe, J. Hamelin, T.K. Bose, Performance of a stand-alone
renewable energy system based on energy storage as hydrogen, IEEE
Transactions on Energy Conversion 19 (2004) 633–640.
[245] D. Ipsakis, S. Voutetakis, P. Seferlis, F. Stergiopoulos, C. Elmasides, Power
management strategies for a stand-alone power system using renewable
energy sources and hydrogen storage, International Journal of Hydrogen
Energy 34 (2009) 7081–7095.
[246] M. Little, M. Thomson, D. Infield, Electrical integration of renewable energy
into stand-alone power supplies incorporating hydrogen storage, Interna-
tional Journal of Hydrogen Energy 32 (2007) 1582–1588.
[247] J.E. Mason, C.L. Archer, Base load electricity from wind via compressed air
energy storage (CAES), Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews 16 (2012)
1099–1109.
[248] A. Cavallo, Controllable and affordable utility scale electricity from inter-
mittent wind resources and compressed air energy storage (CAES), Energy 32
(2007) 120–127.
[249] C. Bueno, J.A. Carta, Wind powered pumped hydro storage systems, a means
of increasing the penetration of renewable energy in the Canary Islands,
Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews 10 (2006) 312–340.
[250] X. Tan, Q. Li, H. Wanga, Advances and trends of energy storage technology in
Microgrid, Electrical Power and Energy Systems 44 (2013) 179–191.
[251] http://blog.vadaenergy.com〉.