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Minimal Size Thermal and Electrical Energy Storage System for In-Situ Residential Installation

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - MiniStor (Minimal Size Thermal and Electrical Energy Storage System for In-Situ Residential Installation)

Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-11-01 do 2023-10-31

The EU building stock has large potential to increase its energy efficiency with solutions that can be integrated to existing dwellings and through different measures. One of them is optimizing the use and management of thermal energy by allowing it to be stored, levelling demand peaks and increasing use of renewables affected by intermittency such as solar-based heating. This will help decarbonize the generation of heat and help achieve overall national targets to offset climate change.
The MiniStor project aims at designing and producing a novel compact integrated thermal storage based on thermochemical materials to achieve sustainable heating, cooling and electricity storage that can be adapted to existing systems in residential buildings. It is based on a reaction of calcium chloride and ammonia, combined with parallel hot and cold phase-change materials for flexibility and usage year-round. It also stores electrical energy in a lithium-ion battery that responds to grid signals and can sell to the electrical grid. The system is managed by a Smart Home Energy Management System (SHEMS) that connects to the Internet of Things (IoT).
The system can have as input energy obtained from a variety of renewable energy sources such as hybrid photovoltaic thermal panels that collect both electricity and heat from the sun. This arrangement is demonstrated and validated in four demonstration sites (Ireland, Spain, Greece and Hungary), testing its effectiveness at different local climatic conditions and facilitating market replication.
As an overview, the Consortium has unified all calculations towards a 7-tube thermochemical reactor design, which is better suited to comply with stringent legislation such as that of France. The manufacture process of the prototypes has started, and has yielded the first completed prototype for the pre-demo site of Thessaloniki (Greece). Certification of the thermochemical reactor has been achieved, and certification of the entire setup is in process of being received.
The photovoltaic thermal (PVT) panels have been manufactured and delivered to all demo sites. The model for Santiago de Compostela is unglazed and needs to be delivered close to prototype installation. All demonstration sites have been fitted with the monitoring system for environmental variables and these systems are functional and collecting data. Preparation works to receive the prototypes are completed. Control systems have been based on feedback from potential users and are in an advanced design stage, to be used as a SCADA system.
A methodology for exploitation and commercialization studies has been laid out, with initial exploitable products detailed. Market studies in seven key European markets has been done. The dissemination strategies are being carried out through the project website and social media channels. Project members have participated in different conferences and peer-reviewed papers have been published. The project has launched approximations with sister projects and has been included in the ECTP catalogue.
The project has progressed beyond the state of the art through establishing an initial analysis of the situation where thermochemical heat storage can be applied. It also has determined a complete set of calculations and design specifications for a heat and electrical energy storage system that can be applied in the project demonstration sites. A monitoring system that can take data from different platforms is also established and operational. The manufacture process has started and provided the first prototype.
Expected results until the end of the project include working prototypes being demonstrated in the selected sites. Potential impacts include reduction of energy consumption for both thermal and electrical energy, and higher user satisfaction from demo site users due to better control of their built environment and indoor air quality. This can provide the basis for further development of the system.
Schematic explanation of how the thermal storage works