Via EUREC Members, AEE INTEC
AEE INTEC coordinates the development of a seasonal thermochemical storage system based on salt hydrate
The CREATE (Compact REtrofit Advanced Thermal Energy storage) project is a research project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme. The consortium consists of eleven partners from eight different European countries and is led by AEE INTEC. The main aim is to develop and demonstrate a heat battery, i.e. an advanced thermal storage system based on thermochemical materials (TCMs), that enables economically affordable, compact and loss-free seasonal storage of heat in existing buildings.
Figure 1: Test rig set-up of the seasonal thermochemical storage system in the laboratory
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CREATE SYSTEM
The developed CREATE system features a modular prismatic storage module design, optimised towards compactness allowing the use of available volume in a building up to 21% more effectively than with currently used cylindrical modules. The storage material used is granulated potassium carbonate (K2CO3) and in the scope of the project a full system with three modules and a total of 1,250 liters of K2CO3 was built and experimentally evaluated.
PROJECT PROGRESS
So far, the main project’s achievements revolved around (i) improvement of the salt performance such as power, stability and energy density; (ii) development and optimization of a prismatic shaped absorber vessel to improve stacking and space requirements; (iii) development and optimization of low-cost evaporator / condenser; and (iv) optimization of the full-scale system on basis of lab experiments and annual system simulations.
DEMONSTRATION
Implementation of the CREATE concept is taking place in a typical European dwelling. To demonstrate the applicability of the thermochemical storage solution and its operation in real-life conditions as well as to receive an early user feedback, the CREATE system will be installed in full-scale at an orphanage in Warsaw, Poland. The climate at the location is characterized by cold winters and warm summers. The demonstration started in summer 2019.
Figure 2: Loading of the storage system placed in a container for transport to Warsaw
Copyright photos: AEE INTEC
This project is supported by the European Commission under the Grant Agreement number: 680450