European grant of 7 million for further development of heat battery TNO and TU/e
The European Commission has awarded a €7 million grant under the Horizon2020 programme to further develop TNO and TU Eindhoven's heat battery.
Storage of renewable energy is not a new idea. What is new, however, is that TNO and TU/e have developed a heat battery that performs stably and without loss of energy and will last at least 20 years if used correctly. The battery is affordable and no bigger than a refrigerator. This is a breakthrough that makes energy storage applicable down to the level of blocks of houses or even individual homes."
The heat battery works with two components: water vapour and a salt hydrate. Bring the two together and the water binds to the salt, forming salt crystals. That process releases heat, which can be converted into electricity, for example.
The big advantage is that the process is reversible. If you put heat back into the system, for instance the energy from solar panels on a bright day or from a rotating wind turbine, water and salt separate again. So: as long as water and salt are separated, energy is stored. If you bring the two back together, heat and thus energy are released. The heat battery from TNO and TU/e can charge and discharge without losing energy. The trick was to avoid damaging the salt particles during the conversion process and thus losing their function.
