HYBUILD: Innovative compact hybrid electrical/thermal storage systems for stand-alone and district connected buildings
HYBUILD action is a systematic approach for developing operationally integrated thermal and electric components and systems from TRL4 to TRL6 and beyond. The hybrid storage concepts are based on a compact sorption storage - designed on a patented way to integrate an innovative adsorbent material within an efficient high surface heat exchanger, a high density latent storage - based on a high performance aluminum micro-channel heat exchanger with additional PCM layers, and an efficient electric storage.
The components are integrated to realize the full-scale hybrid storages (with overall volume between 1 and 2 m3), which are properly managed by advanced control and building energy management systems (BEMS), able to optimize the interactions between components and district network. Such a configuration allows reaching energy savings ranging between 20 and 40%, on yearly basis, both in Mediterranean and Continental climate for non-connected and district-connected buildings.
The Pink GmbH implements these solutions in the field of steel and stainless-steel processing and welding technology, with the main focus on the design and manufacture of storage tanks made of steel and stainless steel for various applications. In this context, the company provided new methods of production and tested full-scale hybrid storages solutions, in the scope of the project.
Resources needed
The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, accounting total costs of 6 mil EUR, entailing the contractual Public-Private Partnership (cPPP) on Energy-efficient Buildings (EeB).
Evidence of success
Energy savings range between 20-40% on yearly basis, both in Continental and Mediterranean climate for non-connected and district-connected buildings. Reaching the heating power consumption of 10 kW, after retrofitting operations, implied the use of technologies: PV, PCM thermal latent storage, Heat pump. This project is compliant with requirements of building sector in every country and end users prescription, thus providing a coherent line up for materials, components and systems development.
Potential for learning or transfer
Energy storage is a key component in providing flexibility and supporting renewable energy, while integration in the energy system could efficiently contribute to the decarbonisation of buildings. Different market structures may impact divergence in market participation by storage resources, which could bring in focus different perspectives of policy debates around the technical barriers in implementing such concepts. Not only consideration on technical barriers, but energy policy frameworks around energy storage in different regions should provide more comprehensible rules related to aggregation of distributed energy sources, as well as consider landscape conditions, particularly when considering planned reconfiguration of energy systems towards low-carbon energy sources. In the transition towards the use of RES, policies and policy-related actions should consider an integral perspective.
