MoreStore – Know-how for innovative integration and assessment of large-scale thermal energy storages

The demand for energy storage will rise significantly on our way to fully decarbonized energy systems due to increased use of renewable energy sources and their non-continuous supply. In particular, large-scale hot water thermal energy storages for local and district heating networks, with volumes of up to 100,000 m³, will play a key role in the short and long term storage of heat (e.g., from solar energy, industrial waste heat and power-to-heat concepts). In Austria, this is particularly driven by the high share of heating demand (about 50 %) in the country’s total final energy demand and by the fact that heat can be stored much more cost-effective than electricity.

The elaboration of the necessary know-how for the successful realization of such large-scale thermal energy storage projects in Austria is the aim of four institutes of the “Austrian Cooperative Research” (ACR) in the project “MoreStore”. The so-called “Storage Check” service, developed in the project, will enable relevant stakeholder groups, in particular SMEs such as micro, local and district heating operators, construction companies, component manufacturers as well as property developers and industrial companies, to assess the potential of this technology early on in the decision-making process. In addition, the involved ACR institutes will be able to offer further support for future large-scale thermal energy storage projects in the form of consulting in the planning, execution and operation phase.

The cooperation of the ACR institutes with broad knowledge in the relevant fields of thermal, civil and materials engineering in combination with the economic-technical approach leads to a holistic coverage of the required expertise. The results of MoreStore will not only expand the service portfolio of the participating ACR institutes, but will also form the basis for Austrian SMEs to enter future markets.