SCORES – Self-Consumption of Renewable Energy by Hybrid Storage Systems

The most recent trends looking at the roadmap to achieve the 2050 European energy and climate sustainability goals for renewable energy, CO₂ emissions and energy efficiency indicate that R&D efforts must combine electricity and heat at the global and local levels. For this purpose, a multi-energy approach on energy generation and conversion is required to release the full potential of intermittent renewable energies. As the building sector accounts for 40% of the total European energy consumption and intends to be “near zero energy” in 2050, the share of renewable energy locally generated and self-consumed in the building must be increased. Hybrid storage (i.e. storage of electricity and heat) is indispensable for creating flexibility, allowing to optimize the balance between the supply and consumption profiles of both electricity and heat for the lowest cost.

The main goal of SCORES is to demonstrate in the field the integration, optimization and operation of a building energy system including new compact hybrid storage technologies, that optimizes supply, storage and demand of electricity and heat in residential buildings and that increases self-consumption of local renewable energy in residential buildings at the lowest cost.

The SCORES concept is based on a hybrid system combining effectively and efficiently solutions that harvest electricity and heat from the sun, store electricity, convert electricity into heat, store heat, and manage the energy flows in the building. For realizing this the SCORES approach consists of 3 technology development lines and 3 integration and demonstration lines. The aims of this approach are threefold: First, further develop, optimize and enhance key technologies in heat and electricity storage and collection, like 2^nd-life Li-ion batteries, phase-change materials or Chemical Looping Combustion technology.

Second, effectively integrate these key technologies in a hybrid system, including a sophisticated Building Energy Management System for optimized monitoring and control. And third, perform a broad large-scale demonstration of the integration, optimization and operation of this system in real buildings in 2 European climate zones with and without district heating connection.

The impact of the SCORES system will be a broad assessment covering various economical levels like individual home owners, housing companies, grid owners, energy companies and governments, ecological issues and also the security of supply /reduced European dependence on fossil fuels originating from instable countries from across the globe. Within this impact assessment an evaluation will be performed for the two demonstrations as planned in the SCORES project.