Advanced Thermal Storage Solutions for Sustainable Energy Management in the Danube Region

Energie & Umwelt

The main objective of the project is to improve thermal energy storage capacities, focussing on long-term storage to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy in building heating. Long-term storage solutions can bridge the gap between the availability of renewable energy sources (RES) and the demand for thermal energy, which rarely coincide. The aim is to go beyond the existing practice of water tank storage and utilise new technologies.

Acronym

StoreMoreWarm

Project running time

01/09/2024 - 31/08/2025

Projectbudget in EUR

124.999

The Danube region faces several significant challenges that affect its energy landscape, particularly in terms of seasonality, dependence on fossil fuels, irregular renewable energy supply and underutilised infrastructure. These issues are critical to understanding the broader context of energy management and sustainability in the region.

Seasonal fluctuations have a significant impact on energy demand in the Danube region, with a pronounced demand for heating in winter and a surplus of renewable energy, especially solar energy, in summer. These fluctuations challenge the ability of the energy system to efficiently balance supply and demand throughout the year. The inherent fluctuations of renewable energy sources, especially solar and wind energy, exacerbate this problem by causing disruptions in the energy supply. Such fluctuations require innovative solutions for energy storage and demand management to ensure a reliable energy supply.

One promising approach is thermal energy storage with high-temperature sand. This technology uses commercially available sand as a thermal storage medium. Another fascinating technology is the thermal storage of molten metal. This approach uses metals such as aluminium or silicon, which melt at relatively low temperatures compared to conventional molten salts. These and other possibilities are being investigated in this project.