Enhancement of Heat-Storage Technology Using Advanced Composite Materials

Generating heat causes around one third of UK greenhouse emissions. The UK 2011 Carbon Plan requires virtually zero-carbon buildings in the UK by 2050. Heat storage is well known to be a key component when generating heat from intermittent renewable sources or to shift heat production to off-peak periods while heat consumption remains on-peak. Today, water-based thermal stores are commmon in the UK, but their large size make them undesirable or impossible to fit in smaller dwellings. Sunamp's heat battery technology uses Phase-Change Materials or Thermochemical Materials to shrink heat storage to one quarter or more the size of equivalent hot water thermal stores. This project allows Sunamp to further increase the energy storage density and power density of heat batteries to increase the potential applications and market for thermal storage, ultimately facilitating the transition to a renewable energy generation scenario.