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giga_TES – Universität Innsbruck

giga_TES - Seasonal storage to increase the share of renewable energies for districts

Project leader overall project: AEE INTEC (AEE - INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES)

Project manager University of Innsbruck: Fabian Ochs (UIBK Energy Efficient Building)

Project staff: Abdulrahman Dahash, Alice Tosatto, Michele Bianchi Janetti

Project partner:

  • AEE INTEC (AEE - INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES) (Austria)
  • SOLID Solar Energy Systems GmbH (Austria)
  • Engineering office ste.p ZT GmbH (Austria)
  • Institute of Polymer Materials and Testing - Johannes Kepler University Linz (Austria)
  • Bilfinger VAM Anlagentechnik GmbH (Austria)
  • Wien Energie GmbH (Austria)
  • GVT Verfahrenstechnik GmbH (Austria)
  • Geologie und Grundwasser GmbH (Austria)
  • Salzburg AG for Energy, Transport and Telecommunications (Austria)
  • PORR Bau GmbH (Austria)
  • Gabriel-Chemie Gesellschaft m.b.H. (Austria)
  • PlanEnergi (Denmark)
  • agru Kunststofftechnik Gesellschaft m.b.H. (Austria)
  • SOLITES - Steinbeis Research Institute for Solar and Sustainable Thermal Energy Systems (Germany)
  • Metawell GmbH (Germany)
  • Smart Minerals GmbH (Austria)

Funding organisation: (FFG, energy research, flagship)

Duration: 01.01.2018 - 30.06.2021

Project website: https://gigates.at/index.php/de/

Funding amount: € 4.4 mio

Summary:

In order to achieve the long-term goal of supplying 100% renewable energy, district heating networks require large heat storage systems such as underground and tank storage. As these systems are implemented in an urban environment, the required surface area should be minimised in order to take account of the relatively high land prices. Minimised costs can be achieved by placing the storage tanks below the surface and using the surface as a leisure area or for the installation of solar collector arrays. District heating networks require thermal energy storage volumes of 50,000 m³ to one million m³, which corresponds to one billion litres. Large thermal storage facilities are currently in operation in Germany and mainly in Denmark, with recently constructed storage volumes of up to almost 200,000 m³.

Experience with existing large thermal stores for district heating networks is still limited due to the low number and short lifetime of the stores. Improvements are needed above all in terms of the performance and durability of the materials and component development. Cost efficiency and system integration require higher storage densities and thus higher temperatures, which at the same time places even greater demands on the materials used. Vapour tightness, serviceability and durability of innovative solutions for covers, walls and insulation require new materials and components as well as improved testing methods. In addition, new construction methods are necessary due to the envisaged size of the thermal storage units and their construction below the surface. The project is therefore divided into the following research areas: Development of components and technologies, material development and testing, computer-aided storage optimisation, system integration and storage management.

Expected results of giga_TES:

  1. A comprehensive overview of requirements and relevant challenges for the use and implementation of giga thermal energy storage systems as well as the development of a scientific decision tool for representative future application scenarios internationally and for Austria.
  2. Development of innovative, best possible construction methods for giga heat storage systems with special consideration of soil conditions. Based on five typical soil and rock profiles, different soil mechanical approaches for deep basin excavations are evaluated and their possibilities are presented.
  3. Development of economical and realisable solutions for critical storage components such as base plate, walls and cover.
  4. Development of novel polymeric and inorganic materials for the construction of giga heat storage tanks and the development of tests and methods for assessing the service life for faster and more realistic selection and pre-qualification of these materials.
  5. Development of a methodology to predict the rise in soil temperature and groundwater temperature depending on specific geo- and hydrogeological conditions and storage design. A co-simulation platform for the optimisation of system configuration and control strategy will be developed.
  6. Evaluation of the additional benefits and importance of large storage facilities in existing and future district heating networks. Analysis of the sensitivities and mutual influence of system parameters with effect on the overall result, as well as the derivation of operating windows and optimised system configurations for known boundary conditions and with special consideration of Austrian boundary conditions.

Focus on the University of Innsbruck:

Detailed dynamic models are required to evaluate and optimise large-scale underground thermal heat storage systems at district heating system level. Models for components (e.g. hygrothermal models) and for storage tanks ("stand-alone" and system integration) allow the thermal performance of large-scale heat storage systems to be predicted, taking into account the boundary conditions, and the effects on the environment to be analysed.

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