thermal energy storage

Brenmiller’s bGen system heat crushes rocks and then stores that thermal energy for minutes, hours, or days. The stored heat energy can be used to produce energy in the form of steam for electricity, water, or hot air for industrial applications.

Israeli developer Tigi Solar is deploying an industrial heat pump to support the heating system at the facility of a food industry enterprise in Israel. The heat pump has an output of 780 kW and a coefficient of performance (COP) of 4.6. It uses existing ammonia chiller waste heat as the heat source and can reportedly provide a hot water temperature of 65 C.

Serbia-based Storenergy has developed a thermal energy storage (TES) solution that uses recycled ceramics as the storage medium. It says its solid-state storage solution is designed to ensure long lifespans and low maintenance costs.

Brenmiller secured a €7.5 million ($8.2 million) credit facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to build the factory.

US scientists have looked at how aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) could be used to store wind and solar power, while catering to heating and cooling energy demand during extreme hot or cold periods. They modeled a distributed energy system for a neighborhood in Chicago and found that ATES could reduce consumption of petroleum products by up to 40% at a slightly higher cost than other forms of storage.

Israeli company Brenmiller is set to launch a 4 GW to 5 GW production line for its thermal energy storage systems, which use crushed rocks to retain heat that can be released as steam, hot water, or hot air.

Netherlands-based One Solution says its new FlexTherm Eco battery can be used in combination with rooftop PV systems and residential photovoltaic-thermal installations. It consists of a thermal charging station that converts power directly into heat and stores it for the provision of hot water.

US engineers have built a scalable thermal energy storage prototype system that combines the best latent and sensible heat transfers. The technology, which is now market-ready after three years of testing, consists of engineered cementitious materials and thermosiphons in a combination that enables fast, efficient thermal performance at low cost.

Long-duration energy storage (LDES) is essential for decarbonizing the grid but gigawatt-hour scale systems continue to be tricky for companies with big ideas. Here are some of the latest innovations across a flourishing array of new – and old – ideas.

Enel is testing a 24 MWh thermal energy storage system that could be used for seasonal renewables storage. The facility uses rocks that store excess energy as heat, then releases that heat to generate steam for electricity.