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Thermal Energy Storage could save the EU over 500Mt CO2 per year
A White Paper launched today identifies that the use of thermal energy storage in industrial processes could reduce carbon emissions across Europe by as much as 513Mt per year.
The White Paper “Industrial Thermal Energy Storage – Supporting the transition to decarbonise industry” has been produced by the European Energy Research Alliance’s Joint Programme on Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes (EERA JP EEIP), a research alliance which aims to support energy-intensive industry to meet the European net-zero greenhouse gas targets. The Paper has drawn on experts from the UK, Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Spain and Austria who have assessed the impact that this technology could have on existing industry across Europe.
Thermal Energy Storage (TES) utilises the properties of different materials to store and release heat, which can provide a wide range of benefits, such as supporting the efficient use of renewable energy, enabling surplus heat recovery to reduce industrial energy use and decoupling energy supply and demand.
The White Paper, which was led by experts at Durham University, investigated the current usage of TES, the challenges and barriers to further uptake and the commercial and environmental opportunities for its use.
Professor Tony Roskilly, Chair of Energy Systems at Durham University and co-Author of the Paper said “Industrial activity is responsible for approximately 25% of energy consumption across the EU and contributes towards 20% of total greenhouse gas emissions, so it’s crucial to decarbonise industrial energy use.
Current industrial heating and cooling technologies are mainly reliant on the use of fossil fuels, and there is a need for a significant shift to renewable energy sources, increasing energy efficiency, and alternative methods for heating and cooling. We need to expand our exploitation of solar and geothermal energy and switch fuels to alternatives such as hydrogen and biofuels. Thermal Energy Storage technologies can enable us to achieve this shift”.
The White Paper was launched to a global audience at a webinar on 13th December.
Find out more
Further details about the EERA JP EEIP can be found here: Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes - Home (eera-eeip.eu)
Download the white paper here: Energy Efficiency in Industrial Energy Thermal Storage