Periodic Reporting for period 3 - HEAT-INSYDE (BRINGING ADVANCED HEAT BATTERIES IN RESIDENTIAL HEAT AND ELECTRIC SYSTEMS CLOSER TO MARKET THROUGH REAL LIFE DEMONSTRATION IN DIFFERENT CLIMATES)
Período documentado: 2022-10-01 hasta 2025-03-31
The HEAT-INSYDE project aims to establish an integrated thermal storage system, based on thermochemical storage, in real-scale pilot demonstrations in residential buildings. This will be achieved by gathering end-user feedback in three different climatic regions across the European Union. These large-scale pilots will include both rented and privately-owned configurations and these are the easiest use cases both in low-temperature heat distribution networks and hybrid applications in electricity networks. The pilot demonstrations target an energy reduction of 25% with a very compact system: i.e. with a size less than 1 m3.
The project is based on two recent technological breakthroughs accomplished with a large contribution of TNO and TU/e. The first innovation concerns a multicyclic stable thermochemical material with a high energy density that can be produced on (semi-)industrial scale at low costs (one of the results of the CREATE project). The second innovation is related to a patented reactor principle that uses the full potential of the first-generation thermochemical material (Patent no. PCT/EP2018/072574). The effective energy density on a system level surpasses the state-of-the art water storage solutions by a factor of at least 10.
The consortium assembled for the HEAT-INSYDE project is industry dominated and brings together all the relevant stakeholders in the value chain: ranging from basic material production, material manipulation, reactor design and manufacturing, energy system integration to municipalities and real end-users. The consortium also includes the City of Eindhoven, bringing a large-scale pilot opportunity and a national funding multiplier. The knowledge base of the consortium consists of TNO, CEA and Eindhoven Technology University (TU/e), all having an excellent track-record in thermal storage technologies, underlined with their wide participation in EU projects in this area.
The project is based on two recent technological breakthroughs accomplished with a large contribution of TNO and TU/e. The first innovation concerns a multicyclic stable thermochemical material with a high energy density that can be produced on (semi-)industrial scale at low costs (one of the results of the CREATE project). The second innovation is related to a patented reactor principle that uses the full potential of the first-generation thermochemical material (Patent no. PCT/EP2018/072574). The effective energy density on a system level surpasses the state-of-the art water storage solutions by a factor of at least 10.
The consortium assembled for the HEAT-INSYDE project is industry dominated and brings together all the relevant stakeholders in the value chain: ranging from basic material production, material manipulation, reactor design and manufacturing, energy system integration to municipalities and real end-users. The consortium also includes the City of Eindhoven, bringing a large-scale pilot opportunity and a national funding multiplier. The knowledge base of the consortium consists of TNO, CEA and Eindhoven Technology University (TU/e), all having an excellent track-record in thermal storage technologies, underlined with their wide participation in EU projects in this area.
The project successfully achieved its main objective of developing a compactness with 0.3-1 m3 heat storage material and system energy density ≥ 10 times state-of-the-art water solutions. Each storage module (box) delivers 3 kWh with a volume of ~0.018 m³. A key innovation is the modular system design, with decoupled storage and heat input/output units. This architecture allows for scalable, customizable configurations tailored to specific end-user needs and budgets. Modular components, such as TCM containers, valve boxes, and heat exchanger elements, were standardized, simplified, and cost-optimized to ensure both flexibility and affordability. Technical improvements were made in critical areas such as sealing, valve clearance, airflow control, and nozzle design, leading to a more robust and efficient system. The reactor and component modules were integrated to further reduce system volume and enhance storage density. The system was fully validated at three demo locations, including integration with heat and electricity grids.
During the HEAT-INSYDE project, partners actively engaged in knowledge dissemination across academic and industrial platforms. Throughout the project, eight peer-reviewed publications, four patents, 14 conference contributions, 3 innovation workshops, and 2 Q&A sessions demonstrate the academic partners' continued involvement in the scientific community. Both academic and industrial partners have worked to maximize the visibility and impact of HEAT-INSYDE’s results. Dissemination efforts included presentations at key conferences, publication of scientific papers, and broad communication via social media, newsletters, and the project website. Notably, the Media page became one of the most-visited sections of the website, confirming the effectiveness of this outreach strategy in engaging stakeholders. These combined efforts have positioned HEAT-INSYDE to make a lasting contribution to both science and industry.
The next phase will focus on the following strategic pillars:
1. Revisiting use case definition
2. Reconsidering market entry focus
3. Planning further technology development
4. Defining the valorisation vehicle
5. Shaping a financial and investor strategy
6. Develop a comprehensive financing strategy that balances dilutive and non-dilutive funding and identifies the most suitable investment instruments to support the next development phase.
During the HEAT-INSYDE project, partners actively engaged in knowledge dissemination across academic and industrial platforms. Throughout the project, eight peer-reviewed publications, four patents, 14 conference contributions, 3 innovation workshops, and 2 Q&A sessions demonstrate the academic partners' continued involvement in the scientific community. Both academic and industrial partners have worked to maximize the visibility and impact of HEAT-INSYDE’s results. Dissemination efforts included presentations at key conferences, publication of scientific papers, and broad communication via social media, newsletters, and the project website. Notably, the Media page became one of the most-visited sections of the website, confirming the effectiveness of this outreach strategy in engaging stakeholders. These combined efforts have positioned HEAT-INSYDE to make a lasting contribution to both science and industry.
The next phase will focus on the following strategic pillars:
1. Revisiting use case definition
2. Reconsidering market entry focus
3. Planning further technology development
4. Defining the valorisation vehicle
5. Shaping a financial and investor strategy
6. Develop a comprehensive financing strategy that balances dilutive and non-dilutive funding and identifies the most suitable investment instruments to support the next development phase.
HEAT-INSYDE targets four Key Performance Indicators addressed by our multidisciplinary consortium:
• compactness with 0.3-1 m3 heat storage material and system energy density ≥ 10 times state-of-the-art water solutions;
• five times cost reduction of the system compared to storage systems developed in other EU projects;
• system performance fully meets key end-user requirements;
• identification of the winning use cases for first market application through full and user-centric (real-life) validation of technical and economic viability of the heat battery integrated in different architectures in renewable electricity and heat systems.
To achieve these ambitious goals, the consortium has defined the following specific objectives to overcome the main technical and non-technical barriers regarding demonstration of the envisioned integrated heat storage to:
• develop an industrial production technology for guaranteed material performance and quality for at least 25 years;
• advance a closed-loop system to a prototype for real-life demonstration;
• optimize flexibility in application;
• ease maintenance and reduced maintenance costs;
• ensure safe and reliable operation;
• validate the economic viability and user acceptance in real-life demonstration;
• organize and develop the supply and value chain for a heat battery.
HEAT-INSYDE will contribute to the expected impacts in the call “LC-EEB-05-2019-20 Integrated storage systems for residential buildings (IA)” as follows:
• HEAT-INSYDE starts from TRL5 with as input TCM materials developed in CREATE and a validated lab-scale prototype of the closed-loop system (patented by TNO and TU/e). HEAT-INSYDE ends with end-user validation of the heat battery in 3 climates in Europe at TRL 7.
• Besides the end-user demonstrations, the project performs accelerated multi-cyclic tests in an emulation environment at CEA/LAB to prove the system reliability and performance over a period of 25 years. The reactor design will be mostly based on optimizing off-the-shelf components, with durability of at least 25 years. HEAT-INSYDE optimizes the components combination, considering the reactor and humidifier to be the most challenging.
• The delivered system will have a storage compartment below 1 m3 and an expected maximum volume of 1.5 m3. This fits the available space in most single dwellings,
• The heat battery will be installed in a highly insulated row dwelling with an annual tap water usage of 7 GJ and a heating demand of 7 GJ on annual basis. The overall energy reduction will be about 43%. The heat battery and solar collector combination covers the tap water demand for >72%, charging the battery and creating hot tap water in parallel.
• compactness with 0.3-1 m3 heat storage material and system energy density ≥ 10 times state-of-the-art water solutions;
• five times cost reduction of the system compared to storage systems developed in other EU projects;
• system performance fully meets key end-user requirements;
• identification of the winning use cases for first market application through full and user-centric (real-life) validation of technical and economic viability of the heat battery integrated in different architectures in renewable electricity and heat systems.
To achieve these ambitious goals, the consortium has defined the following specific objectives to overcome the main technical and non-technical barriers regarding demonstration of the envisioned integrated heat storage to:
• develop an industrial production technology for guaranteed material performance and quality for at least 25 years;
• advance a closed-loop system to a prototype for real-life demonstration;
• optimize flexibility in application;
• ease maintenance and reduced maintenance costs;
• ensure safe and reliable operation;
• validate the economic viability and user acceptance in real-life demonstration;
• organize and develop the supply and value chain for a heat battery.
HEAT-INSYDE will contribute to the expected impacts in the call “LC-EEB-05-2019-20 Integrated storage systems for residential buildings (IA)” as follows:
• HEAT-INSYDE starts from TRL5 with as input TCM materials developed in CREATE and a validated lab-scale prototype of the closed-loop system (patented by TNO and TU/e). HEAT-INSYDE ends with end-user validation of the heat battery in 3 climates in Europe at TRL 7.
• Besides the end-user demonstrations, the project performs accelerated multi-cyclic tests in an emulation environment at CEA/LAB to prove the system reliability and performance over a period of 25 years. The reactor design will be mostly based on optimizing off-the-shelf components, with durability of at least 25 years. HEAT-INSYDE optimizes the components combination, considering the reactor and humidifier to be the most challenging.
• The delivered system will have a storage compartment below 1 m3 and an expected maximum volume of 1.5 m3. This fits the available space in most single dwellings,
• The heat battery will be installed in a highly insulated row dwelling with an annual tap water usage of 7 GJ and a heating demand of 7 GJ on annual basis. The overall energy reduction will be about 43%. The heat battery and solar collector combination covers the tap water demand for >72%, charging the battery and creating hot tap water in parallel.