Summary
- Profile Type
- Technology offer
- POD Reference
- TOES20241212008
- Term of Validity
- 12 December 2024 - 12 December 2025
- Company's Country
- Spain
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Targeted Countries
- All countries
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General information
- Short Summary
- A Spanish start-up specializing in latent heat thermal energy storage has developed an innovative solution that allows to use clean energy sources, storing energy as a form of heat and dispatching it when needed, up to temperatures of 350 ºC with 90% efficiency. The technology focuses on industrial decarbonisation and is ideally suited to high energy-demand industries. The company is seeking partners for developing demonstrative projects and commercial agreements with technical assistance.
- Full Description
-
A Spanish start-up has developed an innovative, low-cost, and efficient thermal energy storage (TES) system designed to transform energy management in industries. This modular, plug-and-play solution combines high energy density with compact design, making it a versatile and sustainable alternative to traditional gas-based systems.
The system supports the EU climate and energy goals, as outlined in the "20-20-20" targets and the European Commission’s Energy Roadmap 2050, by enabling energy conservation and decarbonizing industrial processes.
After years of research and development, the company now offers a TES solution that seamlessly integrates with renewable energy sources, grid power, or waste energy, optimizing resources use while reducing carbon footprint and operational costs. Its scalability allows multiple units to address varying energy demands, making it a robust choice for industries with high energy needs.
Proven Effectiveness in Real-World Applications
The TES system has been validated through several projects:
-2022: Integration with a linear Fresnel solar thermal system at a Spanish university.
-2023: Operation using grid electricity and a power-to-heat system at the company’s warehouse.
-2024: Deployment in an industrial manufacturing facility, where it successfully decarbonized drying ovens, reducing energy costs, CO2 emissions, and reliance on volatile gas prices.
Key Features
-Efficient heat delivery: Provides clean heat at temperatures up to 350ºC with over 90% efficiency, ensuring consistent performance even with variable energy inputs.
-Compact and scalable design: Stores 2 MWh of energy in a standard 20-foot container, maximizing energy density in a space-efficient setup.
-Seamless integration: Plug-and-play functionality enables straightforward adoption into existing infrastructures, minimizing operational disruptions.
-Phase change materials (PCMs): High-energy-density storage medium ensures stable heat supply, outperforming traditional sensible heat systems.
-Adaptability to renewable energy: Accommodates electricity from renewable sources or excess energy from industrial processes, ensuring flexible and sustainable energy management.
Target Market and impact
The primary focus is on industrial drying ovens, widely used in manufacturing, electronics, food and beverages, and pharmaceuticals for processes like drying, curing, and polymerization. These systems often rely on inefficient gas burners that contribute to high costs and emissions. The TES solution addresses these challenges by:
-Reducing operational costs and CO2 emissions.
-Enhancing energy efficiency and eliminating exhaust losses.
-Offering flexibility in managing thermal and electrical energy for greater reliability.
The system combines high efficiency, adaptability, and ease of integration, offering industries a cost-effective and scalable alternative to traditional gas-based systems. It eliminates dependency on volatile gas prices while supporting sustainability goals. By providing consistent, reliable heat, even with intermittent energy sources, the system enables industries to optimize energy use without major infrastructure changes.
The company is seeking commercial agreements with technical assistance to support industries in transitioning to cleaner, more efficient energy systems, paving the way for a more sustainable industrial future. - Advantages and Innovations
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Their pioneering thermal energy storage system is built on the innovative use of phase change materials (PCMs), which transition between solid and liquid states to store and release heat efficiently. This approach provides up to three times the energy density of traditional sensible heat storage systems, overcoming space constraints in industrial facilities and ensuring compact, efficient performance. PCMs also maintain a constant temperature during discharge, a critical advantage for industrial applications requiring stable and reliable heat delivery.
Designed for simplicity and scalability, the system is a true plug-and-play solution that integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure, eliminating the need for significant modifications. Its modular nature allows additional thermal batteries to be installed as energy demands grow, providing a flexible and future-proof solution. Furthermore, the system is free from critical raw materials, ensuring supply chain resilience, and offers a long operational lifespan of 25 years. Additionally, the solution enhances operational cost savings through grid arbitrage and optimized energy consumption, helping industries achieve significant economic benefits.
Comparison with Alternative Technologies
TES systems outperform traditional energy storage technologies across multiple dimensions:
-Electrochemical batteries: TES provides longer storage durations at significantly lower CAPEX, offering superior cost-effectiveness for long-term energy storage. Additionally, TES achieves an efficiency rate of over 90%, compared to 80-85% for lithium-ion batteries, while avoiding the need for frequent replacements due to its 25-year lifespan.
-Hydrogen-based solutions: TES is a more mature technology, with proven reliability and efficiency (90%+ vs. 60-70% for hydrogen electrolyzers), and involves lower CAPEX. These advantages make it a more economically viable option for industries seeking to manage their energy needs sustainably. - Stage of Development
- Already on the market
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 13: Climate Action
- Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
- Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
- Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
-
The company is actively interested in two key initiatives: demonstration projects and commercial agreements with technical assistance.
Participation in demonstration projects is a way to show the versatility and effectiveness of their innovative latent heat thermal energy storage system across diverse industrial settings, with a special focus on high energy demand sectors such as manufacturing, food and beverages, paper, agri-food, textiles and chemicals.
In addition, the company also offers private companies in the industrial sector a unique opportunity to engage with their technological solution, either through direct equipment purchase for full operational control or via Heat as a Service contract, following a pay-for-heat-used model.
Furthermore, they are also looking for dynamic collaborative partnerships with a spectrum of industry leaders, including industrial renewable installers, food industry equipment manufacturers, OEM industrial oven manufacturers and sellers, thermal treatment corporations, and energy services engineering firms. Their objective with these partnerships is to accelerate the implementation and market expansion of their innovative thermal energy storage products. Key benefits could be achieved for both sides, since distributors and agents will find a lucrative opportunity to enhance their market presence in the sustainable energy sector by partnering with the company. They will be able to expand their product portfolio with their cutting-edge technology, providing them with a competitive edge.
Their ideal partner would be a well-established player in sectors like renewable energy, food and beverage, paper, agro-food, textile, or chemical industries. They should have a strong market presence, with a network that includes a diverse customer base and a reputation for delivering quality solutions.
Potential partners should also be committed to environmentally friendly practices as sustainability is a core principle of the company. The company aims to establish a partnership where they can share success and co-develop strategies for mutual growth. - Type and Size of Partner
- SME 11-49
- SME 50 - 249
- Big company
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 04002012 - Other energy related machinery
- 04001001 - Heat storage
- 04002004 - Furnace and boiler technologies
- 04001003 - Storage of electricity, batteries
- 04002006 - Heat exchangers
- Market keywords
- 06008 - Energy Storage
- 09003001 - Engineering services
- 08002001 - Energy management
- 06006003 - Heat recovery
- 06003002 - Photovoltaics
- Targeted countries
- All countries
