In the pursuit of decarbonising the industry, on 7 November 2023, the workshop “Applications for Industrial Thermal Energy Storage” was held at TNO, Utrecht, The Netherlands. The event emerged as a milestone following the launch of the White Paper “Industrial Thermal Energy Storage - Supporting the transition to decarbonise industry”, a result of the scientific collaboration among the members of the European Energy Research Alliance’s Joint Programme Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes (JP EEIP). The workshop organised by JP EEIP, in collaboration with EERA Joint Programmes Energy Storage (JP ES) and Geothermal (JP GE), served as a concluding moment for the efforts around this topic, which had spanned over a year.

Even months after its conclusion, the insights and discussions from this workshop continue to resonate. The gathering brought together experts in the field and provided insights into the current challenges of thermal energy storage (TES) technology in industry implementation. Tony Roskilly shed light on leveraging thermal energy storage (TES) as a catalyst for industry decarbonisation. Marco Pantaleo delved into the emerging innovation trends, pinpointing the research needs and market barriers confronting TES in the industrial sector, alongside discussing the European Innovations Council’s (EIC) role in the topic. Adriano Sciacovelli provided an in-depth exploration of TES applications and their conversion in the industrial field, while Martin Bloemendal addressed attendees with insights on the full-scale application and development of seasonal heat storage.

Amid the exchange of ideas, the workshop hosted a series of panel discussions addressing three critical challenges in the TES domain:

• The first panel discussed the transformative potential of TES combined with heat pumps to enhance renewable energy supply, facilitate surplus heat recovery and energy supply-demand decoupling. The discussion also underscored the importance of system efficiency before TES and heat pump implementation.
• The second panel focused on the intricate balance between stimulating and regulating TES technologies through policy and regulation. It emphasised the hurdles that short legislative periods posed to long-term transitions.
• The final panel highlighted the opportunities and challenges in exploiting geothermal resources for industrial thermal storage. A discussion was held on the use of waste heat from industry in local distribution networks and the implementation challenges due to local regulations. Finally, a call for success stories similar to greenhouses, which have already demonstrated geothermal storage, was made.

The day was further enriched by a site visit to the Energy Cave in Rijswijk and a networking dinner, fostering connections among the participants.

This retrospective look at this key event for the community working on industry decarbonisation not only celebrates the insights gained but also emphasises the ongoing relevance and the critical role TES technology plays in achieving a sustainable industrial future.

Explore the presentations, relive the moments through a short movie and a photo gallery of the event below, and do not hesitate to contact us should you wish to discuss how to shape the next steps toward industrial decarbonisation.

Presentations:

1. Backing visionary entrepreneurs- Marco Pantaleo
2. The transition to decarbonise industry through thermal energy storage-Tony Roskilly
3. Applications for Thermal Energy Storage and Conversion in the industrial field - Prof. Sciacovelli
4. Full-scale application and development of seasonal heat storage - Martin Bloemendal