Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for Renewable ... - EGEC

3Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for Renewable Heating & CoolingRHC applications and priorities for residential buildingsThe priorities for thermal energy storage with short term impact mostly concern sensibleand latent storage:CCT.6ObjectiveNext generation of Sensible Thermal Energy StoragesAvailability of high-efficiency sensible thermal energy storage devices with significantlyreduced heat losses, efficient charging and discharging characteristics and high flexibilityto adapt it to and integrate it in existing buildings with limited space for storages.Costs and thermal conduction of the containment materials will be reduced by replacing metalwith polymer casings, with or without fibre reinforcement. Novel and compact heat exchangersusing improved concepts, geometries and perhaps new materials like polymers will improve thecharging and discharging process by increased heat transfer power and therefore reduce chargingand discharging time and disturbances of the temperature stratification.Significant improvements on storage insulation will be achieved by the development of longlasting, low-cost and easy to apply high performance insulation materials like vacuum insulation.This will increase the overall system performance, the available storage volume (at the samegross volume of the storage including insulation) and the comfort for users by reduced roomheating in summer.The performance of sensible TES will be further increased by improved charging anddischarging as well as stratification devices. The integration of sensible TES into smartheating networks will be enabled by the inclusion of intelligent state of charge determinationsystems fully integrated in the storage.State-of-the-artThe vast majority of today’s storages are based on sensible thermal energy storage,using water as the storage medium and therefore a lot of different concepts, materialsand technologies for insulating and charging and discharging of the storages are available.However, the available technologies are not satisfying regarding performance, flexibilityand costs especially since thermal storage will become much more important in the heatingand cooling sector by using renewable energies.The current limitations of sensible storage technology have a major impact given that a largenumber of water stores are deployed in combination with renewable energy technology suchas solar thermal.TargetsType of activity• 20% cost reduction of mass produced containment.• High performance insulation materials with 50% higher insulation effect than conventionalmaterials and 70% lower cost than present vacuum insulation.30% Basic research / 40% Development / 30% Demonstration3.5.4 Research and innovation priorities for Thermal Energy Storage with impactin the Medium and Long TermThe medium to long term priorities for thermal energy storage R&D can be expressed alongthree thematic lines:• reliable and efficient system performance of thermal storage;• more efficient storage through improved heat transfer and heat transport;• increased storage density using phase change materials and thermochemical materials.The first line incorporates the integration and optimization of storage in the heatingand cooling system, the second line aims at improving the main components in thestorage auxiliary system and the third line is dependent on materials developmentand improvement.CCT.7ObjectiveState-of-the-artImproving the efficiency of combined thermal energy transfer and storageFurther development and improvement of fluids that combine the heat transfer function withthermal energy storage. These will lead to smaller required storage volumes, to an increasein heat transfer efficiency and to a reduction in auxiliary energy for pumping.Low-viscosity, non-corrosive fluids capable of storing large quantities of heat and able to workat low pressure are needed for the next generation of TES systems. For medium temperatures,molten salts could offer the ultimate solution. For low temperatures, additional research isneeded on PCM slurries and PCM emulsions as well as demonstration of innovative conceptsfor cooling in buildings with ice slurries.Targets • PCM slurries or emulsion with long lifetime, reducing the pumping energy with 25%with respect to a conventional water based heat transfer fluid system.• A reduction of 20% of the storage volume through the use of PCM heat transfer fluidsfor room heating.Type of activity20% Research / 40% Development / 40% Demonstration38