In this field of research, we combine scientific acheivements with industrial practice. The aim is to integrate thermal energy storage systems based on molten salt technologies (Molten Salt TES) into existing and new heat supply processes in energy-intensive industries. These include the metal and cement industries, glass and paper production and the chemical industry.

The motivation is clear: process heat accounts for around two thirds of final industrial energy consumption in Germany. These processes are heavily dependent on a reliable and affordable heat supply. At the same time, large quantities of waste heat are generated - a potential that has often gone unused to date.

The integration of thermal energy storage systems (TES) based on molten salt opens up new possibilities for making industrial heating processes more flexible and efficient.

High-grade waste heat discharged from energy-intensive processes can be stored thermally and fed back into the heat source of another process with a time delay. Likewise, the surplus of variable renewable electricity - from wind or photovoltaic systems, for example - can be converted into usable process heat using power-to-heat technologies and be stored for flexible load. The combined utilization of waster heat and power-to-heat makes our storage solution a key infrastructure for the coupling of sectors and the decarbonization of industrial heat supply.

To illustrate this, we show a typical example below:

Integration of a molten salt storage tank into an industrial process

The two-tank system shown consists of a cold tank (T > 180 °C) and a hot tank (T < 600 °C), connected by a closed liquid salt circuit.

It works as follows:

• Charging:
  Thermal energy from industrial waste heat or/ and renewable electricity is fed into the storage tank. The cold salt is heated to high temperatures via a heat exchanger or electric heater and stored in the hot tank.

• Discharge:
  If required, the stored heat is used to generate steam via a heat exchanger. The steam generated feeds the plant's process heat circuit.

• Recirculation:
  The cooled salt flows back into the cold tank and is ready for the next cycle.

This system architecture allows energy generation to be completely decoupled from time. This is a decisive advantage for industrial environments that have a dynamic load structure such as those involving batch processes and/or where there is a strong focus on security of energy supply.

Wir sind überzeugt: Die Integration thermischer Energiespeicher gelingt nur im Schulterschluss mit der Industrie. Deshalb suchen wir engagierte Unternehmen, die mit uns gemeinsam neue Lösungen entwickeln und erproben wollen.

Ob Prozesswärmebereitstellung, Abwärmenutzung oder Power-to-Heat – wenn Sie industrielle Wärmeprozesse betreiben und an innovativen, nachhaltigen Speichertechnologien interessiert sind, freuen wir uns auf Ihre Kontaktaufnahme.

Lassen Sie uns zusammenarbeiten – praxisnah, technologieoffen und anwendungsorientiert.
Jetzt ist der richtige Moment, die Wärmewende in Ihrer Branche aktiv mitzugestalten.