A review of progress in thermo-mechanical energy storage technologies for combined cooling, heating and power applications

Thermo-mechanical energy storage (TMES) technologies have attracted significant attention due to their potential for grid-scale, long-duration electricity storage, offering advantages such as minimal geographical constraints, low environmental impact, and long operational lifespans. A key benefit of TMES systems is their ability to perform energy conversion steps that enable interaction with both thermal energy consumers and prosumers, effectively functioning as combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) systems. This paper reviews recent progress in various TMES technologies, focusing on compressed-air energy storage (CAES), liquid-air energy storage (LAES), pumped-thermal electricity storage (PTES, also known as Carnot battery), and carbon dioxide energy storage (CES), while exploring their potential applications as extended CCHP systems for trigeneration. Techno-economic analysis indicate that TMES-based CCHP systems can achieve roundtrip (power-to-power) efficiencies ranging from 40% to 130%, overall (trigeneration) energy efficiencies from 70% to 190%, and a levelized cost of energy (with cooling and heating outputs converted into equivalent electricity) between 70 and 200 $/MWh. In general, the evolution of TMES-based CCHP systems into smart multi-energy management systems for cities or districts in the future is a highly promising avenue. However, current economic analyses remain incomplete, and further exploration is needed, especially in the area “AI for energy storage,” which is crucial for the widespread adoption of TMES-based CCHP systems.