The NewHeatIntegrated project from the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CET Partnership) focuses on the development of a modular heat storage system based on Phase Change Material (PCM). A year and a half after the project started, the researchers can already boast interesting results.
"We have managed to install a test stack in the laboratory, on which experiments can be carried out and the storage or removal of thermal energy can be measured. We will then use the experience to implement demonstrators, which are prototype storage tanks that will be placed in selected buildings in three countries," says Jiří Koziorek, head of the Department of Cybernetics and Biomedical Engineering at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.The basic principle of the stack is to use the phase change of the material to absorb and release thermal energy, which is much higher during the phase transition than when the phase transition does not occur.
And the stack takes advantage of this. As a result, it can store significantly more energy than, say, a water storage tank at the same volume.In addition, it allows longer term heat storage with minimal losses.
"The very principle of using phase change for heat storage is not new. Our innovation lies in the development of a new modular storage concept that can be used both for material with a melting temperature of around 60°C and for material with a melting temperature of around 35°C. By combining the individual stack modules, it will be possible to achieve the optimum configuration for a given building. Another benefit of the project is the development and integration of an advanced control and monitoring system," explains Professor Koziorek.
The research is continuing and this year the researchers plan to place three demonstrators on the campus of VŠB-TU Ostrava, in Germany and Finland. All of them will undergo a test run in one heating season. The measured data and experience with the design, installation and operation of the storage tanks will be important for potential manufacturers.The new type of storage tank should be ready for series production and serve mainly in systems with a high share of renewable energy: storing energy in times of surplus and providing it to the grid in times of shortage. The NewHeatIntegrated project thus contributes to achieving carbon neutrality in the European Union.
The project TH83030001/Highly Flexible and Modular PCM-based Thermal Energy Storage System for Efficient Heating and Cooling of Buildings is co-funded with state support from the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic under the Epsilon Programme within the CET Call 2022 Partnership Call.