IPN Competes: Competitive and environment-friendly thermal energy storage technology

In the quest for sustainable and competitive thermal energy storage (TES), the IPN Competes project is at the front of innovation. The primary goal is to elevate Cartesian's second-generation TES systems to Technology Readiness Levels 6-7, showcasing two groundbreaking innovations. The first involves a novel design method using extruded aluminum profiles, making the TES system significantly lighter and 30% more cost-effective (patent pending). The second innovation introduces a state-of-charge determination method, essential for optimizing system performance. Beyond integration into the TES system, the project aims to refine the industrial and building processes' integration and enhance the control system. These advancements promise a 20% reduction in CO2 footprint, paving the way for widespread adoption by 2027. The background of IPN Competes lies in the critical role TES plays in addressing energy consumption challenges. Approximately half of building energy consumption and up to 80% in industries is in the form of thermal energy. Cartesian (spin-off from SINTEF) leverages decade-long research on phase change materials for TES, offering a clean and efficient way of handling daily energy fluctuations. IPN Competes aims to revolutionize how we manage peak energy demands, reducing costs, and fostering a sustainable approach to heating and cooling processes. IPN Competes has a budget of 14.4 MNOK, (7.2 MNOK from the Research Council). The project spans from 2024 to 2026, with a focus on new heat exchanger design, state-of-charge determination, control system development, and system/process integration. Dr. Jorge Salgado Beceiro (SINTEF) manages the project, owned by Cartesian. IPN Competes not only promises advancements in TES but also sets the stage for pre-commercial technology by 2026. The project represents a pioneering effort towards a future where efficient and environmentally friendly TES becomes the norm.

The main objective of IPN Competes is to demonstrate at TRL 6-7 CARTESIAN's second generation of thermal energy storage (TES) system, including elevating the TRL from 4 to 6-7 of two major innovations whose concept was recently proved at SINTEF Lab. This second generation will make the overall system 33% lighter, 30% cheaper, reduce the system's CO2-footprint by 20% and open for new market segments, including heating-/cooling-as-a-service. Pre-commercialisation is expected by 2027. These two innovations consist of (1) a new design method for thermal energy storage unit using extruded aluminium profiles instead of regular plate heat exchangers; and (2) a new method for state-of-charge (SoC) determination of TES system using ultrasonic and optical sensors. Two patent applications have been submitted by SINTEF (then transferred to CARTESIAN) for these inventions and are still pending by June 2023. Beyond their integration into CARTESIAN's second-generation TES system, additional R&D will be performed to optimise the process integration of the new system in industry and building processes, as well as further developing the integrated control system to fully benefit from the new design features. IPN Competes will focus on both improving an existing system and making a new product for the same system, by incorporating the two innovations into a new generation design of CARTESIAN's TES technology, bringing them from TRL4 to TRL6-7.