Project description
Innovative thermal energy storage system key to the energy system decarbonisation
Thermal energy storage allows excess energy to be stored and used hours, days or months later at scales ranging from the building, district, town or region. The EU-funded ECHO project plans to develop an alternative thermal energy storage solution. The proposed system will be compact, flexible, modular, plug-and-play, sustainable and digitally controlled. It will be based on thermochemical materials combined with phase change materials for space heating and cooling, domestic hot water production and ice storage. The system will be charged either by exploiting the electricity overproduction from the grid or by directly connecting to renewable energy sources installed in the building. A heat pump will convert electrical energy into thermal energy.
Objective
The project’s goal is to develop and demonstrate novel modular, compact, high performances and Plug&Play thermal energy storage (TES) solutions for heating, cooling and hot tap water production. The new concept of TES proposed in the project will provide electricity load shifting with meaningful peak shaving of the thermal and electric load demands. Furthermore, the exploitation of renewable sources will be a key point of the new TES device considering at the same time the cost-effective results in terms of energy, costs and sustainability of the system.
The project will provide a TES system able to store energy for heating and cooling in building applications for a period of at least four weeks. The novel TES system will be based on a closed-loop TCM reactor insulated by PCM and equipped with an ice storage, again integrated with PCM, for high cooling energy demand. The thermodynamic cycle has been designed to benefit from a further PCM thermal buffer tank, breaking through the closed-loop concept by compensating the energy for humidification with its latent heat. An advanced heat pump will be finally dedicated to the power conversion during the thermal charging process of reactor and PCMs storages, increasing the overall performance.
A dedicated control system will be developed to operate the TES according to the energy production and the end-users’ requirements, adapting to the conditions of use according to the type of air conditioning system and the particular demand for domestic hot water.
The TES solution will be adaptable to all the different possible European scenarios, in terms of energy policy and end-users’ requirements. It will be designed to be used both as integrated into the building heating system and in the smart electricity grid, or in buildings not connected to district heating and cooling network.
Different characteristics of the system will be taken into account, ranging from storage efficiency and durability to cost reduction and LCA and LCCA.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation ActionsCoordinator
00185 Roma
Italy
See on map
Participants (17)
1060 Bruxelles / Brussel
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
42015 Correggio Re
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
44121 Ferrara
See on map
Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
44122 Ferrara
See on map
46022 Valencia
See on map
11060 Beograd
See on map
20009 DONOSTIA-SAN SEBASTIAN (GIPUZKOA)
See on map
34469 Maslak, Istanbul
See on map
28703 Madrid
See on map
35122 Padova
See on map
030242 Bucuresti
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
35020 Tribano
See on map
1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
See on map
Participation ended
34956 Istanbul
See on map
46022 Valencia
See on map
03330 CREVILLENT
See on map
34212 ISTANBUL
See on map
Partners (2)
NG7 2RD Nottingham
See on map
PE7 3HS Peterborough Cambs
See on map
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.