The aim of the NewHeatIntegrated project is to develop an innovative and technically and economically advantageous solution for building-integrated thermal energy storage (TES) systems that can be configured on a site-specific basis for applications throughout Europe (Figure 1).

The overall system is based on a modular system of high-performance TES combined with state-of-the-art sensor technology. The second focus of NewHeatIntegrated is the networking of this TES system with the local energy infrastructure to form an orchestrated overall system, so that all local energy sources and sinks are intelligently linked to form a holistic solution. The proof of concept and its quantified underpinning with real measurement data from the demonstration sites, various application scenarios and simulations represent the third component of the project. This comprehensive system demonstration serves not only to verify and evaluate the development goals, but also to effectively communicate and raise awareness of the potential of innovative and individualized energy systems in the private, public and commercial contexts of society.

The TES to be developed is based on two separately switchable latent heat thermal energy storage stages (sLHTES), which are filled with different switchable phase change materials (sPCM). The operating temperatures of the storage modules are optimally matched to the typical flow temperatures of 35 °C and 55 °C in (residential) buildings with heat pumps and panel heating systems^1,2,3, which significantly improves the exergetic efficiency of the overall system on the one hand and the annual coefficient of performance of the heat pump on the other. Furthermore, compared to the current state of the art, a significant increase in storage density (space saving of up to 64%⁴) is achieved with higher economic efficiency (up to 60% cost reduction calculated over the first 5 years⁵) and assured sustainability (virtually complete recyclability of the entire TES⁶).

Due to the switchability and modular structure of the TES system developed in NewHeatIntegrated, it plays a key role in energy and cost-optimized operation when integrated into the planning or existing energy system. The prerequisite for this is an intelligent integrated control unit that is able to record all energy flows in the building complex and also incorporate external site influences, such as energy prices and weather data, into the operating strategy. NewHeatIntegrated will develop and provide a corresponding system control.

The demonstration plants and buildings located in Finland, Germany and the Czech Republic all have a technical infrastructure that enables the integration of new/additional TES. In addition, data acquisition systems and long-term recordings of all relevant energy consumption parameters are already in place at these sites.

In concrete terms, the aim of NewHeatIntegrated is to transfer the individual system components from the current state of development (TRL 4-6) to three sLHTES demonstration systems in a real operating environment (TRL 7).