A LONG DURATION AND CUTTING-EDGE THERMOCHEMICAL HEAT STORAGE AND UPGRADING TECHNOLOGY FOR HEAT AND POWER APPLICATIONS

This project aims to develop and validate (to reach TRL 4) a novel thermochemical technology that not only can store mid-temperature heat (250-400 deg C)This project aims to develop and validate (to reach TRL 4) a novel thermochemical technology that not only can store heat at competitive cost and very high efficiency but also may upgrade that to considerably higher temperatures.

This way, the technology enables the upgrade of medium-temperature heat to drive high-temperature and more efficient power cycles, e.g. supercritical.

The heat is stored in the form of chemical bonds making it suitable for a long-duration and seasonal storage solution for power and heating applications This novel and outstanding heat storage/upgrading concept offers some further important features that make it even more promising.

These are its i) competitive cost-effectiveness compared to other technologies due to its expected long lifespan, and design/operation simplicity, ii) compatibility with a variety of heat sources (solar collectors, industrial waste heat, electricity, etc.), and power blocks, upon the right material selection, iii) capability of continuous discharging with periodic charging as a requirement for many power cycles upon proper sizing/design, iv) scalability up to several-hundred MWhs of capacity and storage duration from several days to even seasonal with minimal losses, v) no environmental impacts, toxicity, and human health issues, and vi) many more potential applications upon further and case-specific developments in the future.

The consortium consists of 9 partners from all corners of the EU; including 3 universities, 1 research center, 2 SMEs, 2 large enterprises, and 1 NGO, ensuring that all required expertise exists for the successful accomplishment of the project and future exploitation, and also the partners optimally supplement each other.

The technology will be demonstrated in different designs and integrations at 5 kW heat capacity at the DLR laboratory.