Decision Makers and Policy Makers

This work was done at AEE INTEC, supported by the Austrian ministry of Climate and Energy. The purpose of the Task is to push forward the compact thermal energy storage technology developments to accelerate the market introduction of these technologies through the international collaboration of experts from materials research, components development and system integration, and industry and research organizations. The work was performed in 5 subtasks, focussed on Material Characterisation, on Material Improvement, on Determination of State-of-Charge, on Stability of Phase Change Materials and Thermochemical Materials and on Effective Component Performance with Innovative Materials.

Many institutes and industries in The Netherlands are researching, developing and producing thermal energy storage technologies. To have a better view on the relative position of the Dutch R&D activities on thermal energy storage an assessment was made, focussing on 7 different application areas. It was found that The Netherlands have a pioneering role in aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) and Iron-Redox technology, and international experts regard the Netherlands as a leader in TCM, thermochemical heat storage. For other central heat storage technologies, such as pit thermal energy storage, tank thermal energy storage, and for high-temperature sensible heat, collaboration with foreign parties is found necessary to acquire knowledge of these technologies.

This work was done at EAA INTEC and funded by the Austrian ministry of climate and energy. The position paper provides an overview of the compact thermal energy storage technologies market, outlining its importance, potential, and development. It addresses policy, decision makers, and influencers and aims to present high-level information as a basis for uptake and further development. It concludes by highlighting actions needed to further exploit thermal energy storages with minimal space requirements and accelerate more efficient energy systems, including sector coupling, with a higher share of renewables.