Thermal Storage and the heating sector - an often overlooked potential

Kurzfassung

Around 50% of the global final energy demand is used for heating and hot water supply in buildings, districts and industrial processes. So far, these heat requirements are mostly supplied using coal, natural gas and oil, such that the heating sector is responsible for over 30% of the global CO2-emissions [1]. Yet, when it comes to reaching climate goals, we mostly talk about electricity, maybe mobility. Decarbonizing the heating sector is a daunting task, with heat required at a very wide range of temperatures and a wide variety of forms e.g. as process steam, hot gases or heat transfer fluids. Thermal storage will be the key to mastering this challenge, and achieve a reliable and cost-effective heat supply from renewable energy in particular in the high temperature range. In combination with Power-to-Heat solutions, thermal storage can furthermore play an important role also in the electricity grid. This keynote will discuss the above challenges and opportunities and provide an overview of the state of the art on thermal storage to tackle the above.