Project description
Harnessing waste heat for a sustainable future
The reliance on intermittent energy sources like wind and solar leads to fluctuations in energy production, resulting in gaps in renewable energy availability. This challenge is compounded in the industrial sector, where large amounts of waste heat are generated year-round but often remain untapped due to mismatched demand schedules and temperature levels. The EU-funded Muspell project aims to develop a medium-temperature Thermal Energy Storage System (TESS) using innovative hybrid materials. This system is designed to achieve around-trip efficiency of 140 to 160 %, enhance energy density by 20 %, and facilitate decarbonisation in manufacturing – one of the EU’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. Muspell paves the way for integrated, sustainable energy systems.
Objective
The use of intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar incur fluctuations in energy production which lead to gaps in renewable energy availability. Using electricity at peak production to generate thermal energy becomes feasible only if thermal energy storage provides means to decouple generation from production.
Many industrial processes generate large amounts of thermal energy throughout the year as waste heat which reduces energy efficiency. In some industrial setups, waste thermal energy is rerouted in industrial parks, however, temperature levels, demand schedule and processes proximity rarely play in favour of this circular approach. Sector coupling opportunities are reduced due to a mismatch between sector demand schedules.
To address these challenges our main objective is to develop a medium-temperature, medium-to-long-term Thermal Energy Storage System (TESS) with built in heat-pump capabilities provided by a hybrid approach using TCM & PCM materials. Based on our preliminary analysis we aim to achieve a round trip efficiency for power-to-storage-to-heat or heat-to-storage-to-heat of 140-160% depending on temperature level with a storage density of 0.5 GJ/m³ at lab-scale level, while addressing cost-effectiveness. At material level we aim for a 20% increase in energy density, while using sustainable and affordable materials and production methods. By addressing industrial applications, the current project aims at decarbonising the third most emitting sector in the EU - manufacturing, which is responsible for ~20% of the total GHG emissions in the EU. Developing a versatile and energy dense TESS facilitates deployment within the industrial sector, further enhancing sector coupling capabilities such as cascading industry sectors or coupling industrial parks with district heating, paving the way to flexible and fully integrated energy systems.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2022-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
39100 Bolzano
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.