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Energy Storage Through the Ages

  • Human beings have relied on stored energy since time immemorial. The planet’s first mechanism for storing energy arose two billion years ago. Photosynthesis captures solar energy in chemical bonds; it is a process on which all life depends. With the discovery of fire around one-and-a-half million years ago, early man learned to access this stored energy by burning wood. Only since the Industrial Revolution have humans used fossil fuels, which are the results of biomass produced millions of years ago, then subjected to geological processes. Today, the long-term objective is to utilize sustainable biomass storage, replicate it by technical means, and to develop new storage technologies. This chapter is about the history of energy storage as it pertains to the carbon cycle. It begins with a natural energy storage system—photosynthesis—and examines its products biomass, peat, and fossil fuels before turning to storage technology in the era of renewable energies. It will also discuss how stored energy is used. This chapter focuses on natural biogenic and fossil energy storage. Other chapters are devoted to artificial storage technologies, including batteries, pumped-storage, and power-to-gas (PtG). Each begins with a short history of its respective technology.

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Metadaten
Author:Michael SternerORCiDGND
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-55504-0_1
ISBN:978-3-662-55503-3
Parent Title (English):Handbook of Energy Storage
Publisher:Springer
Place of publication:Berlin, Heidelberg
Editor:Michael Sterner, Ingo Stadler
Document Type:Part of a Book
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2019
Release Date:2022/02/15
First Page:3
Last Page:22
Institutes:Fakultät Elektro- und Informationstechnik
Fakultät Elektro- und Informationstechnik / Forschungsstelle für Energienetze und Energiespeicher (FENES) / Forschungsgruppe Energiespeicher
research focus:Energie und Mobilität
Licence (German):Keine Lizenz - Es gilt das deutsche Urheberrecht: § 53 UrhG