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No kidding...
I just came across this paper:
Alkyl Ammonium Chloride Salts for Efficient Chlorine Storage at Ambient Conditions Patrick Voßnacker, Nico Schwarze, Thomas Keilhack, Merlin Kleoff, Simon Steinhauer, Yuliya Schiesser, Maxime Paven, Sivathmeehan Yogendra, Rainer Weber, and Sebastian Riedel, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 2022 10 (29), 9525-9531.
It contains this delicious text:
With a production of 75 million tons per year, chlorine is one of the most important base chemicals. It is used in numerous reactions and involved in the synthesis of roughly 50% of all industrial compounds, 20% of small-molecule pharmaceutical products, and 30% of agrochemicals. (1) Primarily, chlorine is applied in the synthesis of precursors for polymers, e.g., vinyl chloride for PVC and phosgene for polyurethanes and polycarbonates. (2)
However, the production of chlorine by chloralkali electrolysis is an extremely energy-demanding process requiring, for instance, 2% of the entire electrical energy production in Germany. (3) To realize the vision of an exit of coal and nuclear energy, the production of renewable energy (e.g., solar and wind energy) is currently expanded, which results in a more inconsistent energy supply depending on local weather circumstances. Therefore, achieving higher flexibility for energy-intensive processes is a key challenge. (4) Currently, the flexibilization of chlorine production is mainly limited by the lack of techniques for efficient chlorine storage. (5,6)
However, the production of chlorine by chloralkali electrolysis is an extremely energy-demanding process requiring, for instance, 2% of the entire electrical energy production in Germany. (3) To realize the vision of an exit of coal and nuclear energy, the production of renewable energy (e.g., solar and wind energy) is currently expanded, which results in a more inconsistent energy supply depending on local weather circumstances. Therefore, achieving higher flexibility for energy-intensive processes is a key challenge. (4) Currently, the flexibilization of chlorine production is mainly limited by the lack of techniques for efficient chlorine storage. (5,6)
I added the bold.
The Germans think they can store anything indefinitely through weeks of Dunkelflaute. And let's get serious, they have zero intent to phase out coal, particularly because they pissed off Putin by objecting to his war on Ukraine that they financed. They are killing people right now because they shut their nuclear plants to burn coal.
Now they plan to store chlorine because their energy supplies, much as they did in the 18th century, depend on the weather.
One should recognize whence the "alkyl" in "alkyl ammonium" comes. It comes "alkane" carbon compounds from petroleum and dangerous natural gas, the stuff for which they've sent boatloads of money to Putin, supervised by former Chancellor Gerhardt Schroeder, Gazprom employee. The "ammonium" comes from hydrogen generated by reforming dangerous natural gas, Schroeder/Putin's product.
No kidding.