giga_TES – Giga-Scale Thermal Energy Storage for Renewable Districts

Smaller DH systems call for thermal energy storage volumes from 50 000 m³, while for larger DH networks, storages need to be giga-scale, with volumes in the order of one billion litres, or 1 million m3 and above. The potential market for giga-scale thermal energy storage in Austria for medium and larger cities is in the order of tens, while for the smaller systems several hundred potential networks exist. Next to that, the market in neighbour countries of Austria is more than ten times bigger, creating a vast export opportunity for Austrian market players.

Presently, large-scale thermal storages have been built and are in operation in Germany and mainly Denmark, with recent storages having volumes of nearly 200 000 m3. Experience here is still limited due to the low number and short age of the storages. Experiences show that improvements are needed on material performance and durability and on materials and component development. Cost effectiveness and system integration call for higher storage density and thus higher temperatures, imposing even higher demands on the materials used. This and the requirements of vapour tightness, serviceability and durability of innovative solutions for lid, wall and liners call for novel materials and components as well as for improved durability testing methods. The envisioned size of new giga-scale storage technologies and the construction in the subsurface require new construction methods. This broad range of research and technology challenges, the fundamental quality of the materials and technology developments and the sheer size and impact of the giga-scale storage systems and the resulting complexity of integration in district heating networks call for a targeted approach by a consortium such as giga_TES consisting of the key players in the complete value chain of such giga-scale storages in a flagship project. The consortium consists of key materials and component industries, a major construction company, one engineering and two district heating companies, backed by four Austrian and two foreign research institutes that have deep knowledge and experience in the field of materials, components and system technologies for very large thermal energy storages.

The project will develop novel materials and component technologies up to a technology readiness level between 4-5 (out of a nine level scale with research on the one side and market maturity on the other side). Besides, numerical technologies are developed to optimize the thermal, structural and economic performance of materials, components and systems as well as system integration. The project will deliver new liner materials, new concrete formulations, novel component technologies for the main parts – wall, bottom and lid – of a giga-scale thermal storage plus validated numerical simulation models with which the development, integration and optimization process is guided and optimized. With the project outcomes, the key industrial partners will be well equipped to enter the prototype phase of giga-scale thermal energy storages, and be the forerunners in Austria as well as internationally.

Projekthomepage:

https://www.gigates.at