All over the world various research institutes are developing and testing new heat storage materials. To ensure that they are not reinventing the wheel individually, the International Energy Agency has set up a joint task, which is coordinated by ECN.
ECN’s role as coordinator of the new IEA task underlines its present status as an international centre of expertise. As Marco Bakker, research scientist at ECN E&I notes: “During the past few years ECN has established a stronghold in thermal energy storage research. The coordinating role we have been assigned in this task nicely confirms the position we have built up as a leading international knowledge centre.”
Coordination needed
There is growing interest in thermal energy storage, which substantially increases the efficiency of sustainable energy systems, in particular those using solar energy. The IEA task will combine the results of projects that have been completed and are still in progress so as to take heat storage technology to the next stage of development. The main aim of the task is to bring experts in the various fields in contact with one another. Bakker explains: “The whole task revolves around coordinating national projects internationally. Exchanging knowledge will enable the various research projects to be properly coordinated. In this way a lot more can be achieved within a few years.
More contacts with one another will enable institutes to make better decisions on how to deploy their resources so as to achieve the most from their research. Clearly there is a growing sense of urgency, with thermal energy storage increasingly attracting international attention. The substantial interest being shown in the task by both scientists and the industry is unique: over fifteen countries are already involved, and we anticipate even more interest at the next semester meeting.”
Joint task
The three main items on the agenda are designing and developing new heat storage materials, devising monitoring and testing procedures for them, and developing reliable, cost-effective storage systems. Bakker notes: “The three items are multidisciplinary in nature, which is why ECN was chosen to take the lead. A joint task of this kind is rarely established because of the complexity of the subject matter. However, at ECN we do have the knowledge of the fields involved, materials science and solar energy. In no more than five years ECN has in effect risen from being a relatively unknown player to a centre of expertise on thermal energy storage.”
Information:
More information on the IEA task Compact Thermal Energy Storage; Material Development for System Integration is available at www.ecn.nl/ieamaterials.
Contact IEA:
Wim van Helden
ECN Energy in the Built Environment
Tel.: (+31) 224 - 56 4483
vanhelden@remove-this-part-ecn.nl
