Abstract: Thermal storage unit including: a receptacle including orifices allowing a heat-transfer fluid to be introduced into and extracted, and a stack of bricks, arranged in the receptacle in superposed strata, each stratum having lower and upper large faces and defining a plurality of ducts opening via lower and upper openings, the stack including a pair of strata of a lower and upper stratum, the upper and lower large faces of the lower and upper stratum being separated to define a passage, placing an upper opening of a lower duct of the lower stratum in fluidic communication with at least one lower opening, entirely offset with respect to the upper opening, of at least one upper duct of the upper stratum, the lower large face of the upper stratum closing off, at least partially, the upper opening, when the upper opening is observed, along its axis, from the lower duct.

Abstract: Thermal storage unit including: a receptacle including orifices allowing a heat-transfer fluid to be introduced into and extracted, and a stack of bricks, arranged in the receptacle in superposed strata, each stratum having lower and upper large faces and defining a plurality of ducts opening via lower and upper openings, the stack including a pair of strata of a lower and upper stratum, the upper and lower large faces of the lower and upper stratum being separated to define a passage, placing an upper opening of a lower duct of the lower stratum in fluidic communication with at least one lower opening, entirely offset with respect to the upper opening, of at least one upper duct of the upper stratum, the lower large face of the upper stratum closing off, at least partially, the upper opening, when the upper opening is observed, along its axis, from the lower duct.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a regenerator including a packed bed of energy storage elements made of a material having the following chemical analysis: 25%<Fe2O3<90%, 5%<Al2O3<30%, CaO<20%, TiO2<25%, 3%<SiO2<50%, Na2O<10%, Fe2O3+Al2O3+CaO+TiO2+SiO2+Na2O>80%, and other compounds: complement to 100%.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a regenerator comprising a bed of energy storage media placed in a chamber, the chamber comprising a shell and an insulating layer placed between said shell and said energy storage media, the insulating layer comprising a structure defining a plurality of cavities, each cavity having a volume greater than 5 cm3, at least a portion of said cavities being filled, at least partly, with an insulating material, the minimum thickness of the structural material separating the cavities and the internal volume of the chamber wherein the energy storage media are placed being higher than 2 mm.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a regenerator including a packed bed of energy storage elements made of a material having the following chemical analysis: 25%<Fe2O3<90%, 5%<Al2O3<30%, CaO<20%, TiO2<25%, 3%<SiO2<50%, Na2O<10%, Fe2O3+Al2O3+CaO+TiO2+SiO2+Na2O>80%, and other compounds: complement to 100%.

Abstract: A thermal power plant includes a unit producing heat energy, a regenerator including energy-storage elements, a consumer of heat energy, and a circulation device. During charging, the circulation device circulates a charging heat-transfer fluid from the unit producing heat energy through the regenerator, entering the regenerator at a charging temperature of less than 1000° C. During discharging, the circulation device circulates a discharging heat-transfer fluid through the regenerator, entering the regenerator at a discharging temperature. The energy-storage elements have material with a melting point higher than the charging temperature plus 50° C. and lower than 2000° C. The concentration of all elements leached from the material is less than or equal to 0.5 g/l. The material of the energy-storage elements has a characteristic ratio higher than 0.