SOLTEC · A Game-Changing Solar-Thermochemical Heat Storage and Intensification Technology for the Process Heat Sector

This project proposes a game-changing integrated technology of solar collectors and Thermochemical Energy Storage (TCES) systems. This solution is primarily proposed to bring sustainability to the process heating sector, which has been so far very challenging to decarbonize due to a lack of cost-effective and reliable solutions. Besides this main feature, the proposed technology has some distinguishing attributes that make it groundbreaking scientifically and very competitive technically. These are 1) solving the technical challenges of TCES systems, namely material agglomeration over time and non-uniform heat distribution throughout the material within the reactor, 2) integration of the solar collectors' field and the TCES system leading to lowered capital and maintenance costs and increased overall efficiency, and 3) significant temperature lifting of the stored solar heat during the hydration phase of the thermochemical material enabling the system for process heating at much higher temperatures which are otherwise not possible by a solar energy system. With main hypothesis that the uniform flow of reactive material can effectively be controlled and helpful for its agglomeration and non-uniform heat distribution prevention, SOLTEC aims at laying the first stone of research on this technology and pushing the edges of the state-of-the-art through a) developing the theoretical principles of solar heat capturing/storing/intensification process, b) developing the optimal and compatible design of the collectors for this, and c) techno-economic and environmental evaluation of the technology. The project will develop the fundamental theories and methods to design, optimize, and test this innovatively operating solar system.