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UK developer of grid integrated heat storage technology providing continuous balance between electricity generation and energy/heat supply seeks partners to test, validate, provide feedback through research, technical cooperation and financial agreements

Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Reference Number: TOUK20191028001
Publication Date: 8 November 2019

Summary

A UK based SME has developed a heat storage in pre-heated water device which can reduce energy consumption bills up to 30%. The device works by heating water through simultaneous/sequential operation of 2 or more electric energy sources. The solution can be applied in any industry that consumes high volumes of energy and has a requirement for heat generation and transfer. The company seeks industrial and research partners to engage via research, technical and/or financial agreements

Description

This UK based SME was established in 2017 to develop and commercialise a multi-functional grid scale heat production and storage device to support decarbonisation of heat generation.

The company founder has a PHD in heat and power engineering, BSC in industrial management and IP and over 30 years of experience of developing this type of technology.

This UK SME is developing innovative heat storage in pre-heated water device which can reduce energy consumption bills up to 30%.

Decarbonisation of electric and heat generation is one of the most important objectives and challenges in the energy sector. Recent investigations demonstrate that heat generation and storage technologies can provide significant support to the process of decarbonisation.

Current devices are unable to concentrate big amounts of heat energy in small volumes and therefore they are not widely applied in industrial applications like electricity grid balancing services and in operation of heat networks. This UK company is developing a multifunctional modular device which overcomes these deficiencies.

The device works by heating water through simultaneous/sequential operation of 2 or more electric energy sources (e.g. induction and immersion). The electricity can be fed by renewable and/or conventional electricity and by low carbon/waste heat energy sources. Energy sources used in the device operation can be connected to the nearest electricity grid connected point and/or to each other.

The device can be manufactured as a single unit of a nominal capacity, which can be increased up to the required level by aggregation of a particular number of single units.

The device provides precise regulation of the amount of electricity obtained from electricity grid and other energy sources; dynamic evolution of temperature field; regulation of occurred heat losses; regulating time period of heat storage.

Initial research suggests that the device is 85-87% efficient. It can be applied in modular/grid scale applications, effectively operating in a wide range of technical and physical parameters, compatible with conventional, renewable and low carbon electricity generation technologies and can be placed at any electricity generation sites or elsewhere and can be operated remotely.

The solution can be applied in any industry that consumes high volumes of energy and has a requirement for heat generation and transfer. These include the following:

- Power generation (conventional, nuclear and renewable power plants)
- Pharmaceutical, chemical, petrochemical and food manufacturers
- Heat networks
- Energy storage companies
- Low carbon generation and waste heat utilisation companies
- Companies providing national grid balancing services
- Companies using or developing compressed air energy storage technologies
- Energy supply aggregator companies
The main benefits of the technology:
- It allows the production, distribution and supply of cost-effective heat energy for heating and hot water supply of industrial business and domestic consumers
- It maximizes accommodation of low predictable intermittent renewable energy sources in the networks- Wind, Solar, Photovoltaic (PV)
- It provides balancing services for electricity grids and energy distribution networks: this includes Mandatory Frequency Response, Enhance Frequency Response, Firm Frequency Response, Demand Side Response and others.

The company seeks industrial and research partners with the ability to test and simulate the technology in a lab environment for its further commercialisation. It is envisaged that both collaborations will be undertaken via research and/or technical cooperation agreement.

The company is also seeking a financial agreement(s) with investment partners to fund the testing and prototyping of the device.

Advantages and Innovations

Innovative grid scale heat production and storage in pre-heated water device was designed for resolution of multiple tasks:  

• meeting industrial and domestic heat and hot water demand
• providing and keeping direct dual side connection with renewable, conventional and low carbon electricity generation and heat consumption side
• providing grid scale bi-directional control for renewable, conventional and low carbon electricity generation and heat and hot water supply
• participating in balancing services (frequency control and regulation, demand side response and others) by buffering between grid scale electricity generation and end heat consumption.

The main advantage of the device is that it can be simultaneously connected to the electricity generation (conventional, renewable, low carbon) side (electricity grid and/or distributed electricity generation) and to the heat distribution and supply side (heat networks, industrial enterprises, electricity generation sites and other consumers).

Due to dual connection the device provides a bi-directional control for electricity generation and heat production and distribution/heat supply allowing rapidly (within seconds) and repeatedly switch the device on and off to ramp energy (electricity and heat) up and down.

Taking into account that the device usually charges during the most economically profitable time slots – low consumption and/or off peak hours, time periods of renewable electricity generation surpluses and negative power prices and etc., energy bills for industrial, business or domestic customers will also be significantly (up to 30%) reduced.

The device is able to produce and efficiently store significant amounts of heat energy in pre-heated water (in a wide range of physical and technical parameters) in relatively small reservoirs.

Stage Of Development

Project already started

Stage Of Development Comment

Currently the company is at prototyping and testing stage.

Requested partner

The UK company is exploring a range options to support the development, validation and commercialisation of the technology.

The company seeks prototyping expertise to support the testing and validation of the technology in a lab environment. This will involving using specifications and data provided by the company to run simulations that prove the technology.

The company also seeks to engage with partners that require pre-heated water and steam in order to provide feedback on the concept within their industry. This includes the following industries:

• Chemical – Producing fertilisers
• Petrochemical – companies that are converting crude oil into products
• Pharmaceutical – medicine producers
• Food industries manufactures
• In power plants operators (i.e. joint operation with combined cycle gas turbines)
• Electricity grid balancing services (frequency response, demand side response, fast reserve and others)
• Domestic heat networks

Type of agreement for both collaborations will be through technical and/or research cooperation agreement.

The company is also seeking financial agreement(s) with investment partners to fund the testing and prototyping of the device. This could be part of A research cooperation agreement with any of the industrial partner(s) named above or from a separate investor.

Cooperation offer ist closed for requests