HiTES

The fastest way to decarbonize the currently fossil based industrial heating is through electrification. IEA identifies electrification of the heating sector as one of the key policy actions for bridging the gas supply-demand gap in the EU35. Such wide-scale electrification is however not possible without the flexibility provided by integration of TES. Industrial TES will thus have multiple positive impacts, including GHG emission reduction, energy system efficiency improvement, cost savings and grid stability improvement. The potential for fossil fuel savings through the rollout of TES in industrial energy systems have been estimated to 1793 TWh, corresponding to GHG savings of 13 Mt CO₂- equivalents per year.

HiTES will develop high-temperature thermal energy storage (HT-TES) solutions for the process industry at temperatures ranging from 100 to 400°C. HiTES will contribute to solving two major challenges, decarbonization of industry and the emerging demand for energy system flexibility, by developing the required knowledge and tools to accelerate the uptake of HT-TES in electrified industrial processes.

Despite the obvious advantages of industrial TES, there are several technical and non-technical challenges limiting its wide-spread uptake.

HiTES will address these challenges by

1. developing emerging HT-TES solutions based on PCM and TCES, as well as exploring novel concepts for TES;
2. improving the integration of TES into industrial energy systems;
3. developing advanced control and monitoring systems;
4. developing decision-making and dimensioning tools for the industry and assessing the energy system impacts of wide scale implementation; and
5. supporting HT-TES demonstrations in the industry.

The main project objective is to enable a faster uptake of High-Temperature Thermal Energy Storage (HTTES) to industry as a key component to the needed flexibility in decarbonised process industry.

To achieve this goal, the secondary objectives are to:

1. Further develop promising HT-TES technologies such as PCM, TCES and ssPCM.
2. Evaluate optimal process integration pathways for industrial cases.
3. Develop digitalized control and monitoring systems to make HT-TES reliable and more economical.
4. Develop decision-making tools for designing HT-TES solutions for the industry.
5. Evaluate the energy system impacts of industrial decarbonization through power2heat and HT-TES.
6. Assess non-technical barriers and potential enablers for widespread implementation of HT-TES.

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