Industrial operations often depend on steam - and any interruption can mean lost productivity, increased costs, and unnecessary complexity. One of the key capabilities of MGA Thermal’s energy storage system is simultaneous electrical charging and steam discharge - enabling uninterrupted steam supply even while the thermal battery is recharging.This feature is essential when supplying industrial sites with continuous thermal power and minimal downtime from variable renewable energy.Why This MattersDowntime is expensive. Our thermal battery avoids that compromise:No interruption to steam during chargingLower capital and operational costsSupports 24/7 renewable steam deliveryIndependent Control, Smarter OperationAt the heart of this capability is our decoupled subsystem architecture. The charging and discharging functions operate independently, allowing each to be controlled simultaneously and precisely:Charging subsystem: Responds in under 100 milliseconds to fluctuations in electricity pricing and system state-of-charge (measured by the temperature of MGA Blocks). This enables the system to capitalise on the lowest-cost electricity - typically when renewable energy is abundant - without disrupting steam delivery.Discharge subsystem: Regulates steam output based on available stored energy and real-time demand from the client’s facility, ensuring stable and continuous supply.This architecture means the system can charge opportunistically, accessing the lowest cost power and avoiding spikes, while still delivering reliable steam to industrial processes - a critical advantage for facilities that can’t afford interruptions.Proven Performance, Real-World ImpactWe’ve completed testing to demonstrate this capability under industrial operating conditions. Using our first-of-a-kind demonstration unit in Tomago, we showed that the system maintains stable steam delivery while varying charging power in real time.“This isn’t just a technical milestone - it’s a real advantage for our customers,” says Dr. Alex Post, Chief Technology Officer at MGA Thermal.“It means reliable steam without the cost of duplicate backup systems, smart charging when electricity is cheapest, and no compromise on supply. That’s real flexibility proven in industrial conditions.”Let’s talk about how this feature can benefit your site.

The need for long term energy storage in Australia is really heating up. Global climate accountability closing in, and the resulting pressure on industries, major emitters and the infrastructure that underpins them is intensifying. The good news is that the race to slash emissions has fuelled Australia’s rapid uptake of renewable energy – the share of renewables in our national electricity mix is at a record high, hitting 77.9% on Sunday 21st September. The Clean Energy Council reported that 2024 delivered a record $9 billion in clean energy commitments, the strongest year since 2018, and created 10,000 new jobs.But with that progress comes a double-edged sword. As we lean more heavily on variable renewable energy sources like wind and solar, we are also becoming increasingly vulnerable to the whims of the weather. Sunlight and wind cannot be dialled up on demand. When skies are overcast or conditions are still, generation drops. For households, that can mean less reliability and higher bills. However, for industry, the ramifications are far more severe – sudden outages may bring production lines to a screeching halt, disrupt supply chains, spoil perishable stock, and wipe millions off the bottom line in a single day. Without reliable large-scale storage solutions, industries are forced to fall back on fossil fuels.The paradox of abundanceThis is the paradox of Australia’s energy transition. Renewable generation is at a record high – on average powering 43% of the main electricity grid, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) – yet we have no viable means of storing it for when we need it.The shift to renewable energy undoubtedly introduces new operational risks. Surplus generation capacity is wasted by curtailment when the grid can’t absorb it, while shortfalls force reliance on carbon-heavy backup sources. These swings threaten the continuity of industrial operations and chip away at the competitiveness of Australian industries. Managing the risks of renewable variability Long-duration energy storage technologies, such as Electro-Thermal Energy Storage (ETES) systems, offer a way to manage the risks associated with renewable volatility. Acting as a shock absorber for the grid, ETES captures surplus renewable energy when generation is high, storing it as high-grade heat until needed. That input energy can be held for hours or even days before being dispatched as clean, reliable energy output.Many ETES systems are designed to complement existing thermal processes, whether industrial steam, heating loops, or even district thermal systems. They avoid costly overhauls and sidestep the red tape and retrofitting delays that can hobble the roll-out of other technologies. Compared to lithium-ion batteries, ETES provides longer-duration storage at lower cost per kWh, making it especially suited to bridging extended lulls in generation. For industry, ETES ensures continuity of operations, allowing factories and processing plants to run predictably even when solar or wind output fluctuates. In this way, ETES transforms the variability of renewable energy into a controllable, dependable resource.Why the time to act is nowMGA Thermal has partnered with Knode to deliver a 180 megawatt-hour industrial heat thermal storage project, demonstrating that ETES is commercially viable and deployable now. Globally, momentum is building, with industry leaders like Shell Ventures investing in thermal storage innovations, recognising that long-duration thermal storage will be a cornerstone of the energy transition.Australia is blessed with some of the best renewable resources on the planet. We have an abundance of wind, sun, and the technical expertise to innovate our way to a cleaner energy future. But without large-scale storage, these assets remain underutilised due to curtailment in times of plenty. ETES offers us the means to capture what nature provides. This isn’t only an environmental issue; it’s an economic imperative. The industries that rely on this energy – from manufacturing to mining – are a cornerstone of our economy. They can’t simply fall away because they lack the tools to decarbonise. The impact on jobs and economic output would be colossal, especially as we've been slow to move on future-facing industries. It’s go-time, just as we’re seeing in other markets.Widening adoption across energy-intensive sectors, combined with embracing ETES as part of our national energy strategy, will stabilise the grid, safeguard industries, protect jobs, and unlock the full economic and environmental potential of Australia’s renewable resources.

Thermal Energy Storage Thermal energy storage (TES) systems store energy as heat and are a type of long-duration energy storage (LDES), meaning many of the technologies can store energy for over 10 hours. It’s ideal for storing energy during the day and releasing it at night or even 24x7, plugging the ‘peaks and troughs’ energy dilemma that the electricity grid can struggle with on sunny days or cold nights.There are three types of TES; sensible heat, latent heat and thermochemical. During this case study, we’ll be using a TES technology example, MGA Thermal, which uses latent heat as the dominant storage mechanism. In plain terms, this storage material undergoes a phase change (i.e. melting). MGA Thermal’s latent heat TES is unique as, due to the microstructure of the material, the MGA Blocks store energy through a phase change while remaining outwardly solid. The method reduces containment risks and overall makes the system more economical, having a higher energy density compared to other forms of TES, and a smaller physical footprint than sensible heat LDES technologies which reduces the cost of the balance of plant.Why TES?50% of the world's final energy consumption is used for heating (IEA, 2019). Historically, industrial processes have been consuming the heat provided by burning gas, coal, or oil, often to create steam in boilers. TES can provide decarbonised heat through electrification and storage, thereby replacing the burning of fossil fuels yet allowing industry to continue to operate without disruption.Thermal energy storage can also provide both heat and electricity supply from stored renewable energy. This is called cogeneration and creates flexibility for industry to use heat energy for their manufacturing processes, and electricity for their business operations. LDES typically stores renewable energy at times of excess supply. In addition, our example TES from MGA Thermal, decouples the charge and discharge in its design, that is it can charge and discharge simultaneously. As an example, this means the system could charge for 8 hours a day whilst discharging 24/7, thus powering industries that need to operate around the clock. The LDES Council report ‘Driving to Net Zero Industry Through Long Duration Energy Storage’ found that in many applications, LDES can already electrify low-to-medium temperature processes at a more economical cost than alternatives. Read more about LDES as applied to industrial decarbonisation here. Industrial heat Industry has many considerations when looking to replace typical gas or coal-fired steam systems. Successfully decarbonising will require new scaling technologies that firm renewables and service a broad range of temperatures. Most processes currently use fossil fuels, and decarbonisation will require clean steam or process heat in temperatures ranging from less than 150°C to over 1000°C. The LDES Council suggests that existing LDES technologies can already address 65% of industrial emissions and provide a clear pathway to effective decarbonisation.TES in an Alumina Refinery What does an Alumina Refinery do?Alumina or aluminium oxide, is a material manufactured partway through the aluminium refinement process. Mined bauxite ore is refined to alumina, which is then processed to produce aluminium. The refining process used by alumina refineries (Bayer) involves digestion, clarification; precipitation and calcination. During this process, a large amount of process heat in the form of high-pressure steam is required at the digestion step and very high-temperature process heat is required at the calcination step. The LDES Council report ‘Net-zero Heat’ uses a business case study with the below specifications. Technical specificationsBaseload operation (>99% uptime), with daily TES charging cyclesSteam at ~104 barg and 325C (260GWh annual equivalent)380MW electric boiler with 6.6 GWh TES replacing 380MW gas boiler Upgrade 300km transmission line built to support additional 980MW grid capacity~600,000tCO2 emissions saved annually Source: LDES Council, Net-zero Heat p.43, 2022In this example from the LDES Council, a 6.6GWh Thermal Energy Storage System and a 380MW electric boiler replace a 380MW gas boiler, to provide heat for the digestion step. MGA Thermal TES is ideally positioned to deliver the process steam in the alumina refinery. The MGA solution combines the electric boiler and storage functions into a single system. It is considered a highly flexible operation with daily charging cycles and the ability for co-generation with 24/7 discharge. Key factors that contribute to ultimate costs and profitability are fossil fuel cost vs renewable electricity cost and CO2 price (or carbon tax). The LDES Council report found that the return on investment is even stronger when the business has access to behind-the-meter solar electricity. Benefits of TES in Alumina Refineries Flexibility: TES allows flexible charging. TES systems can charge at times of low grid demand and store the energy to use at any time of the day. This flexibility helps to level out the load on the grid and may unlock additional grid service value streams. Some grid networks may begin reducing fees for electricity transmission (grid demand fees) and offer remuneration for flexibility – accepting TES as a grid asset because it doesn’t add to the load during times of stress. Co-generation: Combined heat and power TES technologies that are capable of making very high-temperature steam like MGA Thermal can also drive steam turbines prior to providing the heat energy for alumina digestion. Generating both heat and power with the one storage technology improves flexibility whilst helping to reduce cost, complexity and resources used. Variable pricing: Many grids around the world have variable spot prices. This unlocks the refinery's ability to capitalise on variable electricity pricing - buying while the price is low or even negative. It also avoids any increases in the price of fossil fuels as climate change increases global tensions. Reducing CO2: reducing emissions and decarbonising the refinery will decrease carbon taxes, depending on the country and region’s policies. Carbon taxes are set to become increasingly common as emission reduction targets grow closer- read LDES, Industrial Heat and Decarbonisation Policy. Most importantly, reducing CO2 emissions enables refineries to meet Net Zero obligations and help curb the effects of climate change. Our technology, MGA Thermal, is ideal to decarbonise Alumina refineries, ready to address industrial heat, steam or steam + power applications between 150°C and 600°C. If you’d like a techno-economic assessment of how TES could work in your industry, submit your project details here.

Why does industry need decarbonising?Industrial emissions currently contribute to over 25% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, generating over 12.5 billion tons of CO2 emissions in 2021 (LDES Council 2023)!This is only expected to increase as the global industrial heat demand is predicted to grow by 34% from 2019 to 2040 (IEA New Policies Scenario 2017). Decarbonising industry is critical to realizing the Paris Climate Accord 1.5°C pathway, and keeping the dramatic effects of climate change at bay.Industry has many considerations when looking to replace typical gas or coal-fired steam systems. Successfully decarbonizing will require new and scaling technologies that firm renewables and service a broad range of temperatures. Most processes currently use fossil fuels and in order to decarbonise will require clean steam in temperatures ranging from less than 150°C to over 1000°C. One solution is Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES), which can already address 65% of industrial emissions and provides a clear pathway to effective decarbonisation.The LDES Council recently released their report ‘Driving to Net Zero Industry Through Long Duration Energy Storage’ discussing the impact of decarbonising industry. This report states that the emissions reduction opportunity is approximately 8 billion tons of CO2 emissions, which is nearly 2/3 of global industrial emissions. MGA Thermal highly recommends the report and other LDES Council resources, read the report here.Types of industrial heatThere are four different temperature ranges that are typical for industrial heat. Below 150°C – this includes processes such as food & beverage, wood processing, data centres etc. There are existing solutions (E.g. heat pumps) to decarbonise this temperature range on the market.Between 150°C and 500°C – The LDES Council classifies this segment as “easy-to-electrify” and this segment includes processes that typically use heat in the form of steam or hot air.Between 500°C and 1,000°C – Some of this segment can be addressed with current LDES technology, and emerging LDES technologies will further decarbonise this segment. Greater than 1,000°C – The LDES Council classifies this segment as "hard-to-electrify", meaning they cannot readily be electrified due to high-temperature balance of plant requirements.The below figure from the LDES Council outlines the different heat requirements for each industry, with some industries like chemicals, cement, steel and metal using heat in all four segments. Approximately half of the global industrial heat production falls within the easy-to-electrify segment, including processes such as chemical production, paper, rubber and plastics. The remaining half is in higher-temperature sectors of the hard-to-electrify segment such as steel and cement.Why LDES?LDES can provide both heat and electricity supply from stored renewable energy. It decarbonises the current process of fossil fuels and boilers, allowing industry to continue to operate without disruption. LDES stores renewable energy from excess supply from renewable sources, and firms it so it is available 24/7. This results in LDES being an economically attractive solution for industrial firms seeking to decarbonise heat and/or improve the reliability of their electricity supply. The LDES Council report ‘Driving to Net Zero Industry Through Long Duration Energy Storage’ found that in many applications, LDES can electrify low-to-medium temperature processes at a more economical cost to the alternatives. LDES technology is already on the market to provide the firmed steam or heat for industry.The economic case for LDES in industryLDES is an economically attractive solution for industrial firms, especially when factors such as price volatility, energy reliability, and carbon taxes are taken into account. The LDES Council found in low-to-medium temperatures, the economics of the LDES solution are contingent on electricity costs if planning to draw from the energy grid. Therefore the economic case improves further for grid systems that have volatile electricity prices from natural gas prices (Germany), intermittent renewable supply such as solar production (Australia) or low reliability of supply from unplanned outages or labour strikes (South Africa). “LDES improves electrification economics by decreasing the cost of abatement by 10% to 20% compared to a scenario where LDES is not utilized. Project economics are most sensitive to four key variables: lost load cost savings (related to outage count and duration); natural gas prices; carbon taxes; and bill savings (tied to grid volatility). Increasing any of these variables would enhance LDES feasibility in the future, reducing cost of abatement by ~10-65%.”The economic savings of switching to LDES is predicted to advance further towards 2040. Key factors increasing the incentive for reliable steam or heat production from LDES solutions include falling capital costs of LDES solutions, diminishing grid reliability and increased price volatility. Thermal Long-Duration Energy StorageThermal Energy Storage (TES) is an ideal technology to deliver heat or even heat and power (co-generation) to industry. There are various types of TES technologies, that can be categorised by different types such as latent heat (includes a phase-change i.e. melting), sensible heat (remains in the same phase), or thermochemical (reversible chemical reactions that produce/use heat). MGA Thermal stores energy as latent heat, meaning the storage material goes through a phase change. However, what makes MGA’s technology unique, is that the MGA Blocks remain outwardly solid throughout the phase-change. The MGA Blocks are designed with two key materials. Tiny metal alloy particles are dispersed through a matrix material. The metal alloy particles melt as the blocks are heated and energy is absorbed, while the matrix material remains solid and keeps the molten particles in place. As well as the sensible heat that MGA blocks store, vast amounts of thermal energy is stored in the solid-to-liquid phase change as latent heat and is released as the blocks cool and the particles become solid again. MGA Blocks are used in Thermal Energy Storage Systems (TESS) which deliver continuous high-temperature heat or electricity that is safe, low cost, sustainable and high capacity.MGA Thermal is a scaling LDES technology ready to address industrial heat applications between 150°C and 650°C. Contact us to find out how we can enable 24/7 heat or steam production for your industrial application and make 24/7 renewables a reality.

Installed rooftop solar will soon generate more power than Australia’s remaining coal plants, that’s over 20GW of combined grid-connected capacity! There’s clearly a lot of rooftop solar, but how does it affect the whole grid system? This blog discusses how the demand curve has changed over the last 10 years and the change in energy generation curves between generation technologies. The Duck Curve A rather well-known image of the electricity demand curve is referred to as “the duck curve”. It originates from the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) (essentially the AEMO of California) which published the below chart in 2013, displaying energy demand on a spring day. The chart also showed CASIO’s prediction of how the demand curve would change in the coming years. Source: http://www.caiso.com/The overnight demand in megawatts remains relatively stable over the 7-year projection; except for a slight increase, likely due to increasing population and rising connections to the main electricity grid. From about 8 am the demand curve begins to fall, dipping around midday and early afternoon; the curve falls deeper as the years progress. The drop in demand is due to an increase in small-scale solar generation (ie. rooftop solar) throughout the day and greater adoption over the years. Rooftop solar allows households to use their own generated power during the day and therefore fewer households are relying on energy from the main grid. However, they can only produce their own electricity during the day and still rely on the grid when the sun isn’t shining. Demand for electricity from the main grid then increases as the sun sets and more people return home from work, causing an evening peak in demand at around 6 pm.Generators have to cope with steep ramp-ups and ramp-downs to accurately meet the electricity demand, which is commonly the case in the evening peak. It is challenging for grid generators and operators to balance because it means a huge amount of generation capacity coming online very rapidly. Many elements of the grid infrastructure were designed for traditional synchronous generators and a smooth demand curve. The extreme demand curve is not only taxing on infrastructure, but it also becomes uneconomical for traditional synchronous generators. If they can’t ramp up quickly to meet this demand, they need to generate all day, regardless of whether they can sell the electricity during the day. This leads to things like over-supply and negative electricity pricing.Of course, demand doesn’t always look like the predicted graph – it changes day to day, and because of the renewable behind-the-meter generation, even depends on the weather. That said, it does usually follow the two demand peaks: a small one in the morning and a big one in the evening. Supply Curves So, if the demand curve looks like a duck, what does the supply curve look like? Well, it’s different for every form of energy generation, and that’s why the transition to a 100% renewable energy grid is not simple. The NEM has over 100 different generation companies, including synchronous thermal power stations and renewable energy. Different types of generators have different generation supply curves, of varying intermittency and flexibility. Variation may even occur within one type of generator; solar PV farms across the grid will vary in generation depending on climate, weather, maintenance, and more. Below we discuss the typical generation curve of synchronous generators, solar, and wind power. Synchronous generators Generators such as thermal power stations have a fairly smooth generation curve. You can view live power generation at OpenNEM- Often, through OpenNEM, you can observe coal power generators slightly increase generation of the morning peak and then more significantly ramp up for the evening peak. Synchronous generators were designed to run continuously and at a constant frequency, and hence their infrastructure and design do not allow quick ramp-up/down or shut down/start up (this is discussed in ‘Inertia, Synchronous Generators and Frequency’). Solar generation Typically, Solar PV generation begins as the sun rises and finishes as it sets. This creates a curve that generally looks like an upside-down u. Concentrated Solar Power has a similar curve, although it works through direct radiation, so the shape is closer to an upside-down v. Solar power generation can be fairly accurately predicted, through weather forecasts. There are also technologies that accurately predict when a cloud will be over the solar field and adjust for the drop in electricity generation.Wind generationThe wind generation graph is an example of wind generation over a day. Wind power is less predictable than solar generation however we can predict broad trends according to weather events, seasons and years. Although the power generation is intermittent it still managed to be a 12.5% contribution to the NEM in the last year (OpenNEM, 1 year from 16/01/2023). Fortunately, solar and wind generation are independent and tend to combine well to provide a fairly continuous supply.By overlaying demand with solar and wind generation, the peaks and troughs of mismatched energy generation and demand become evident. Supply often outweighs demand in the middle of the day, and demand often peaks in the evening just as solar generation drops off. We will discuss the typical results of an oversupply in a future article. AEMO is the body that ensures the energy generation supply meets electricity demand, and as the example data shows, the energy mix to meet demand changes every day depending on renewable energy generation. To see real-time energy mix in consumption and generation visit OpenNEM. The energy mix will continue to change as new technologies emerge and existing ones become cheaper and more efficient. Currently, solar energy curtailment is a common practice to balance the energy mix and retain grid integrity. This basically means ‘switching off’ solar farms in the middle of the day to minimise over-supply. However, increasing the amount of energy storage on the NEM would allow intermittent renewable energy generators to produce in excess of energy spot demand and store it for evening peak consumption. Read about MGA Thermal’s energy storage solution here. Published 03/03/2023 – MGA Thermal. Authored by Arden Jarrett.A version of this blog was originally published on 18 May 2021.

What is inertia and how does it support the grid? Our electricity network was historically created for baseload power through thermal fossil fuel power plants and therefore works best with the conditions provided by those generators. That is constant output power, frequency, and signal inertia. More recently, the energy generation mix has been diversifying with the rapid uptake of renewable power generation and it brings with it a decreased level of inertia in the grid. Read on to learn more about inertia…Synchronous generators: what are the moving parts? Generating electricity from fossil fuels involves burning non-renewable fuel sources to produce heat. The heat is transferred to a gas, that is, steam in steam turbines and air in gas turbines. The high-pressure, high-temperature gas is used to spin a turbine, which in turn spins an alternator. It is the alternator that actually generates the AC electricity[i]. The term ‘synchronous generator’ comes from the fact that the speed that this generator spins (in revolutions per second) is synchronised with the frequency of the grid (which is necessary to maintain the appropriate AC signal).What is Inertia?Inertia in physics is defined by Newton’s first law of motion, also known as the law of inertia: a body at rest remains at rest, or, if in motion, remains in motion at a constant velocity unless acted on by a net external force[ii]. Inertia, in the case of the electricity grid, is referring to the grid’s ability to ‘push back’ against any disturbances. The spinning turbine of synchronous generators (fossil-fuel fired power stations) provides constant grid inertia; the spinning turbine cannot stop quickly and only very slowly runs down if the pressurised gas slows or stops. Basically, it’s a big heavy piece of machinery that wants to keep spinning at the same speed.What does low inertia result in? A grid that is more susceptible to minor disturbances disrupting the whole system. Another way to think of inertia is as a ‘buffer’. If a disturbance occurs, the turbine will keep spinning and allow some leeway which prevents the minor disturbance from affecting the whole grid. Watt energy has an explanation about FACS here.How is this related to frequency?The frequency in the grid was set historically as the speed of the turbine and alternator of synchronous generators. You can see that the spinning inertia of a synchronous generator will keep the generated power at a consistent frequency. Globally, the frequency in each country is either set at 50 Hz or 60 Hz; the grid in Australia is kept at a constant frequency of 50 Hz, whereas the grid in the USA is set at 60 Hz.What happens when the frequency drops? Grid infrastructure is designed for a certain frequency and MW capacity, if an event occurs that exceeds the designed limits, the system shuts down to protect that infrastructure usually resulting in blackouts – read about the infamous 2016 South Australian Blackout[iii]. However, the Australia Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has processes in place to avoid total system failure; one of these is quick response energy storage. Asynchronous generators Many renewable power generators which are becoming very common on our grid are asynchronous. Wind turbines use rotation to generate electricity, the turbines spin at variable speeds set by the wind and not from constant high-pressure gas which limits the amount of inertia they hold. Solar photovoltaic (PV) cells only produce DC electricity when the sun is shining and have no moving turbines; solar PV has no spinning parts which would contribute to inertia. Both wind and solar are known as intermittent energy sources and have electronic frequency control to match the grid-required 50 Hz.Energy storage & durationTo make up for the decreasing level of built-in inertia on the grid, other buffer systems have been installed – such as batteries. Quick response energy storage can be used to meet frequency variations, stabilise the grid and become that ‘buffer’ or ‘cushion’ to external events. Quick response energy storage is vital for the NEM’s shift to renewable power. However, a full combination of energy storage is needed to meet daily, weekly and seasonal demand while managing intermittent supply generation. Medium and Long Duration Energy storage is also a rapidly expanding market. It refers to the effective length of storage, creating categories within the energy storage market. While batteries are very effective at quick response to electricity output, there are many other forms of energy storage that range from hours to months. Some medium-duration energy storage technologies such as Thermal Energy Storage (TES) can build in a level of inertia to the grid. As we transition to a net-zero energy network, a combination of energy storage technologies is a promising solution to create a stable, and robust grid.MGA Thermal’s technology is medium to long-duration energy storage which is ideal for shifting the supply curve to meet demand on a daily to weekly basis. The TES can repurpose existing thermal power station infrastructure, to create cost-effective, sustainable, robust grid-scale energy storage. Learn more about the MGA Thermal technology here. Published on 10/02/2023 - Arden JarrettA version of this blog was originally published on 18 January 2021.