Inventors : Luc Liedtke, Juan-Luis Pinón Ramírez, Collin Smith, Laura Torrente-Murciano
The inventors have developed a novel approach to storing thermal energy. Based on a reversible chemical reaction combined with proprietary materials, the technology is being developed to integrate with heating systems to intermediate the fluctuations between renewable energy generation and useage on a weekly, monthly or seasonal basis.
Current energy storage solutions either prioritise energy density or energy storage duration. The Apricity system is designed to deliver high energy density combined with a long storage duration. The ultimate goal is to allow renewable energy (such as solar) generated in the summer months to be used for heating in the winter without wastage.
High energy density is important to reduce the size of the storage system needed to store seasonal quantities of energy. The chemical process is reversible, ensuring that there are no thermal losses over time, as there would be with more conventional thermal storage methods. Additionally, storage systems help to buffer against energy price volatility across the year.
Target application areas include domestic heating networks, data centres and solar heating solutions, including both commercial and industrial useage and domestic useage. The challenge for the i-Team is to investigate the possible markets for the technology, as well as the impacts of the current and upcoming legislative frameworks on the timing and need for long‑duration energy storage systems.