Process steam is an important energy carrier for industrial processes, which is currently mainly provided by using fossil gas. One option for decarbonisation is the use of electricity from fluctuating renewable energy sources such as wind and solar to generate heat. This process is called "power to heat". By additionally using a thermal storage, the thermal energy supply can be decoupled from the availability of electricity.
Finned tube latent heat storage
To provide demand-based process steam, pressurised water is pumped through the tubes. The water evaporates inside the tubes, while the phase change material solidifies on the outside of the finned tubes. For electrical charging, the phase change material is melted using electrical heaters.
In the PCM-Grid project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, an electric steam generator with a storage function is being developed and integrated into the industrial process of an end customer. This is based on the finned tube latent heat storage concept developed jointly by DLR and KI-Alu. To charge the storage, a suitable phase change material is melted at high temperatures using electrical heaters. During discharging, the phase change material solidifies and process steam is provided to an industrial process.
As part of the 3.5-year project, an electrically charged latent heat storage unit for the provision of process steam will be integrated and extensively tested in an industrial environment for the first time, qualifying the technology for large-scale use. Furthermore, as part of the project, an electrically charged latent heat storage system based on the pillow-plate concept will be developed and tested for the first time for direct steam generation in the DLR laboratory.
PCM-Grid at a glance
Project
PCM-Grid
Duration
January 2024 - June 2027
Storage build-up
Summer 2025
Project consortium
German Aerospace Center, Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics
Viessmann Industriekessel Mittenwalde GmbH
RuLa-BRW GmbH
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V, Institut für Fertigungstechnik und Angewandte Materialforschung (IFAM)
