No Vapor-Compression, Electrochemical Looping Heat Pump (NOVEL HP)

Lead Performer: Purdue University – West Lafayette, IN
Partner: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) – Urbana, IL
DOE Total Funding: $1,249,730
Cost Share: $249,946
Project Term: September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2023
Funding Type: Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) - 2018

Project Objective

The primary objective of this Purdue-led project is to accelerate the development of electrochemical looping heat pump (ELHP) technology, which has the potential to outperform conventional vapor compression systems (VCS) from both energy-efficiency and system-reliability perspectives. The main goals of this project will be to develop two major improved ELHP-system components: 1) new working fluids, and 2) high-performance cells. These improvements will be enabled by a number of innovative system architecture concepts, which can potentially result in a demonstration of a compelling ELHP system.

Project Impact

Heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) represent approximately half of the total energy consumed by U.S. residential and commercial buildings. The increasing need for more efficient HVAC&R systems necessitates the development of alternative systems. The electrochemical looping heat pump (ELHP) technology can enable an improvement in energy efficiency of more than 20% compared to conventional vapor compression systems (VCS) depending on the operating conditions. The ELHP technology can potentially serve all HVAC&R applications, since the system scales in a manner analogous to VCS. By only considering HVAC applications, the sum of the total savings when all residential and commercial air conditioners are replaced is estimated to be 0.66 Quads (0.33 Quads for 50% market penetration).  With the assumption of a 35% capital cost increase for initial ELHP systems relative to conventional VCS units, the estimated simple payback period is < 2.5 years for regions where the average use of air conditioning is 2,000 hours per year. The proposed project has the potential to provide the U.S. with a substantial leadership position in a highly differentiated technology with a potentially multi-billion dollar market.

Contacts

DOE Technology Manager: Antonio Bouza
Lead Performer: James E. Braun, Purdue University; Davide Ziviani, Purdue University

Related Publications

James, N.A., Braun, J.E., Groll, E.A., 2019. The chemical looping heat pump: Thermodynamic modeling. International Journal of Refrigeration, 98: 302-310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2018.11.005

Kim J., James N.A., Groll E.A., Braun J.E., Ziviani D., “Scalability of Chemical Looping Heat Pump technology” IIR International Rankine 2020 Conference – Heating, Cooling and Power generation – 26-29 July 2020, Glasgow, UK. DOI: 10.18462/iir.rankine.2020.1200