High-temperature storage for industrial applications

In its TES product, Berlin-based company Lumenion has launched a high-temperature storage system based on the power-to-heat principle. The TES, which stands for thermal energy storage, is intended to ensure a continuous supply of heat from renewable energy sources and is particularly suitable for generating process heat in the industrial sector and supplying district heating networks.

Heating accounts for about half of international energy consumption. When power is generated from wind or solar power, the biggest challenge is in ensuring a stable heating supply. With its TES technology, the company has developed a high-temperature storage system that stores renewable energy in a steel core, which it can subsequently release in the form of heat. In addition to process heat, which can be used by industrial consumers in steam form, these storage systems can also be integrated into district heating networks. An initial pilot project has already been implemented together with Vattenfall in Berlin, where up to 400 flats are currently being supplied with heating.

According to the company, its unique selling point versus other high-temperature storage systems is its steel core. This core is designed to ensure heat availability with different temperature levels from 120°C to 450°C at all times, delivering a high level of supply reliability. The steel core can be fully charged in four to six hours. It should also be possible to store and release heat at the same time.

Steel has the advantage of hardly losing any thermal conductivity. Recycled steel is also suitable for use, which further increases the system’s sustainability. The supplier states that it would make a round-the-clock heating supply possible with prices below €60/MWh.