The Norwegian company SINTEF has developed a heat storage system based on phase change materials (PCM) to support PV production and reduce peak loads. The battery container contains 3 tons of vegetable oil based liquid biowax and is currently exceeding expectations in the pilot plant.
The Norwegian independent research institute SINTEF has developed a PCM-based battery capable of storing wind and solar energy as thermal energy using a heat pump.
PCM can absorb, store and release a large amount of latent heat within a certain temperature range. They are often used at research level to cool and keep warm photovoltaic modules.
“A thermal battery can use any heat source, as long as the coolant supplies heat to the thermal battery and removes it,” researcher Alexis Sewalt told pv. “In this case, water is the heat transfer medium because it is a good fit for most buildings. Our technology can also be used in industrial processes using pressurized heat transfer fluids such as pressurized carbon dioxide to cool or freeze industrial processes.”
The scientists placed what they call a “bio-battery” into a silver container containing 3 tons of PCM, a liquid bio-wax based on vegetable oils. It is reported to be able to melt at body temperature, turning into a solid crystalline material when it becomes “cold” below 37 degrees Celsius.
“This is achieved using 24 so-called buffer plates that release heat into the process water and act as energy carriers to divert it away from the storage system,” the scientists explained. “The PCM and thermal plates together make Thermobank compact and efficient.”
PCM absorbs a lot of heat, changing its physical state from solid to liquid, and then releases heat as the material solidifies. The batteries can then heat cold water and release it into the building’s radiators and ventilation systems, providing hot air.
“The performance of the PCM-based heat storage system was exactly what we expected,” said Sevo, noting that his team has been testing the device for more than a year in the ZEB laboratory, which is run by the Norwegian Research University. technologies (NTNU). “We use as much of the building’s own solar energy as possible. We also found the system to be ideal for the so-called peak shave.”
According to the group’s analysis, charging bio-batteries before the coldest time of the day can help significantly reduce grid electricity consumption while taking advantage of spot price fluctuations.
“As a result, the system is much less complex than conventional batteries, but it is not suitable for all buildings. As a new technology, investment costs are still high,” the group said.
The proposed storage technology is much simpler than conventional batteries because it doesn’t require any rare materials, has a long life span, and requires minimal maintenance, according to Sevo.
“At the same time, the unit cost in euros per kilowatt-hour is already comparable or lower than that of conventional batteries, which are not yet mass-produced,” he said, without specifying details.
Other researchers from SINTEF have recently developed a high-temperature industrial heat pump that can use pure water as the working medium, the temperature of which reaches 180 degrees Celsius. Described by the research team as “the hottest heat pump in the world,” it can be used in a variety of industrial processes that use steam as an energy carrier and can reduce a facility’s energy consumption by 40 to 70 percent because it can recover low-temperature waste heat, according to its creator.
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You won’t see anything here that doesn’t work well with sand and retains heat at higher temperatures, so heat and electricity could be stored and produced.
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