is the latest big company to back Newcastle start-up MGA Thermal’s plan to store energy in blocks made of graphite and aluminium.
The key to making the blocks receive energy lies in the different melting points of graphite and aluminium. To get the energy out of the blocks, MGA pumps an inert gas such as nitrogen through the blocks, and those gases become hot when they pass over the molten aluminium particles. The grant will not give Shell equity in MGA nor the project, and is in effect a cheque with no strings attached.
MGA Thermal has previously been tapped by AGL Energy to help with a feasibility study into the establishment of a thermal battery atThe study is investigating whether a gas fired turbine at Torrens Island could run for 8 hours on a thermal battery.