About the project

The Government of Egypt is in the process of transforming the energy sector from being based mainly on fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, targeting a 20 % and 42 % supply of electricity from renewable energy sources, primarily based on wind energy and solar energy, by 2022 and 2030, respectively. However, the increased penetration of fluctuating renewable energy sources causes imbalance between supply and demand of energy, reduced capacity margins and congestion of electricity networks.

One of the promising options to mitigate the variability of renewable energy sources is to use large-scale energy storage systems. A promising novel solution that resolves these issues is the liquid air energy storage (LAES) system, which is a technology with a high energy density that does not require large storage volumes.

The project aims at providing the scientific, technological and policy basis required for the development and implementation of large-scale energy storage in Egypt, enabling increased penetration of renewable energy sources in the Egyptian energy system. The objectives of the project are:

• Analyse and optimise the LAES system to achieve an optimal design.
• Investigate hybridisation of the LAES system with concentrated solar energy and the district cooling system of the New Cairo city to obtain high round trip efficiency.
• Perform multi-dimensional numerical analyses of packed-bed rock hot and cold thermal energy storage systems, optimising their thermal-hydraulic performances.
• Conduct multi-dimensional numerical and experimental analysis of two-phase turbo-expanders for the liquefaction process, supporting an efficient design of the charging cycle and a high round trip efficiency of the LAES system.
• Analyse the impact of LAES technology in the Egyptian energy system using energy system network modelling, supporting the decarbonisation of the Egyptian energy system.
• Analyse policy measures for widespread integration of large-scale energy storage in Egypt.

The following sustainable development goals are effectively supported by the project: Affordable and Clean Energy (Goal 7) by facilitating RES based solutions; Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (Goal 9) by advancing state-of-the-art technologies overcoming the barriers of expanding fluctuating renewable energy sources in Egypt; Sustainable Cities and Communities (Goal 11) by promoting sustainable economic growth; and Climate Action (Goal 13) by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector.

The project runs from 01/08/2022 to 31/07/2025