Project description
Breaking barriers to mass renewable energy integration
In a world grappling with the challenge of meeting IEA net-zero targets, the heating sector remains a stumbling block. Accounting for over a third of energy demand, it is heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Recognised as a game-changer for decarbonisation, district heating lacks effective large-scale seasonal energy storage solutions. With this in mind, the EU-funded USES4HEAT project will unveil two groundbreaking, cost-effective, and large-scale thermal energy storage units. These are set to transform district heating networks and industrial heat recovery. Through advanced drilling, innovative pipes, heat pumps, solar tech, and AI-based management tools, USES4HEAT promises a future of reliable, decarbonised heating with minimised environmental impact.
Objective
Today, the heating sector is not on track toward achieving the IEA Net-Zero targets: it represents more than a third of the energy demand and it mainly relies on fossil fuels. District heating is recognized as a major solution allowing decarbonization of the heating sector. The integration of large-scale seasonal energy storage, compensating for the mismatch between supply and demand whilst ensuring the service, is key for a wide spread of district heating. USES4HEAT aims to demonstrate innovative, large-scale, seasonal thermal energy storage solutions enabling a future decarbonized and reliable heating supply. USES4HEAT demonstrates, at TRL8 and for a one-year test campaign, two innovative, cost-effective, large-scale, seasonal underground TES units to maximize the availability and resilience of heating supply while reducing energy losses and environmental impact. USES4HEAT seeks to demonstrate the storages as fully integrated units in commercial large-scale district heating networks and industrial waste heat recovery and fulfilling industrial thermal demand. In doing so, USES4HEAT also demonstrates six innovative key enabling components/technologies and their integration with seasonal storages: advanced drilling equipment and remotely controlled machines halving drilling times, innovative layered high-temperature borehole pipes, efficient groundwater heat pumps integrated with aquifer storages, hybrid solar panels and thermal solar collector, and accurate AI-based energy management tools. USES4HEAT will systematically demonstrate the effectiveness and techno-economic-social viability of innovative, large-scale, seasonal energy storages ensuring limited CAPEX, reduced environmental impact and energy losses, efficient integration in district heating and accumulation of various sources of heat, and granting reliable and decarbonized heating supply.
Fields of science
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation ActionsCoordinator
100 44 Stockholm
Sweden
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Participants (26)
100 31 Stockholm
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16126 Genova
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47151 Boecillo
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38122 Trento
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412 96 Goteborg
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0212 Oslo
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3570 AL
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
12030 STOCKHOLM
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871 33 Harnosand
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
38066 RIVA DEL GARDA
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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.
38066 Riva del Garda
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38066 RIVA DEL GARDA
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35020 Tribano
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38068 Rovereto
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
40062 Ghiaroni
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
50820 Zaragoza
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
1200 Bruxelles / Brussel
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
10000 Zagreb
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10000 Zagreb
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1784 Sofia
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
3600 LOM
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151 25 ATHENS
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
57001 Thermi Thessaloniki
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50100 Kozani
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16982 Stockholm
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28043 Madrid
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