HECTAPUS: Heating and Cooling Transition and Acceleration by use of Latent Heat Storage

The "HECTAPUS" project explores the potential of Phase Change Materials (PCM) for thermal energy storage to facilitate the transition to efficient heating and cooling solutions. Among various thermal energy storage technologies, PCM offers a promising approach for short-term storage of heat and cold, typically covering periods of hours to days. The unique property of PCM, such as the phase change from ice to water, allows for the absorption of significant amounts of energy without a change in temperature, making it an effective and space-efficient storage solution. Despite its considerable potential for short-term heat and cold storage, PCM technology has yet to achieve widespread commercial adoption. For optimal performance, PCM storage systems must be specifically engineered to accommodate the appropriate temperature ranges and to support a high number of charge and discharge cycles in alignment with energy supply and demand. Currently, there are only a limited number of PCM installations across Europe, However, Norway stands out as one of the few countries with several installed PCM systems designed for short-term heating and cooling of buildings.. The HECTAPUS project encompasses a comprehensive approach, including simulations, dedicated laboratory experiments, and full-scale testing of existing PCM systems. The goal is to monitor and analyze the performance of energy systems that utilize PCM storage. In particular, we are leveraging operational data from a facility that integrates geothermal energy with PCM technology and developing models to optimize the operation of these combined energy systems. The project is part of a collaborative initiative under the Geothermica & JP Smart Energy System program, led by KTH in Sweden, with project partners from Sweden, Turkey, and Norway. Additionally, two Norwegian master's students from NTNU are actively engaged in research related to HECTAPUS

The “HECTAPUS” project aims at investigating the potential for use of Phase Change Materials (PCM) storage for accelerating the heating and cooling transition. Among the thermal energy storage technologies, the use of PCM is a promising technology for short term storage of heat or cold for periods of hours to days. The phase change of a medium, e.g ice to water, absorbs large amounts of energy without temperature change. Thermal storage by use of PCM with high energy density is a space efficient storage solution. Despite the potential both for short term storage of cold and heat, PCM storage has not yet had its commercial breakthrough. A rudimentary requierment for using PCM for thermal storage is that the storage needs to be specifically designed with proper temperatures and high number of charge & discharge cycles in accordance to the energy supply and needs. There are currently only a limited number of PCM installations in Europe. The HECTAPUS project will cover the whole range from simulations via dedicated laboratory experiments to full scale tests of existing PCM tanks, all with the aim of monitoring and analysing the performance of energy systems with PCM storage. To address the defined knowledge gaps, the project activities will be grouped in four scientific work pakages (WPs) as follows: WP1 Case Studies. Monitoring and performance studies WP2 PCM Storage. Simulation and lab experiments WP3 Integrated UTES and PCM storages WP4 Expoitation of PCM storage