Abstract
Abstract The achievement of European climate energy objectives which are contained in the European Union's (EU) “20–20–20″ targets and in the European Commission's (EC) Energy Roadmap 2050 is possible, among other things, through the use of energy storage technologies. The use of thermal energy storage (TES) in the energy system allows to conserving energy, increase the overall efficiency of the systems by eliminating differences between supply and demand for energy. The article presents different methods of thermal energy storage including sensible heat storage, latent heat storage and thermochemical energy storage, focusing mainly on phase change materials (PCMs) as a form of suitable solution for energy utilisation to fill the gap between demand and supply to improve the energy efficiency of a system. PCMs allow the storage of latent thermal energy during phase change at almost stable temperature. The article presents a classification of PCMs according to their chemical nature as organic, inorganic and eutectic and by the phase transition with their advantages and disadvantages. In addition, different methods of improving the effectiveness of the PCM materials such as employing cascaded latent heat thermal energy storage system, encapsulation of PCMs and shape-stabilisation are presented in the paper. Furthermore, the use of PCM materials in buildings, power generation, food industry and automotive applications are presented and the modelling tools for analysing the functionality of PCMs materials are compared and classified.
Highlights
The European Union's policy objective is to move towards a low-carbon economy, with at least a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030
The results showed that daily performance increased from 42% to 53% relative to solar systems with no cooling while the thermal conductivity of stabilised PCM (SSPCM) went up from 0.2 to
Energy storage can be divided into many categories, but this article focuses on thermal energy storage because this is a key technology in energy systems for conserving energy and increasing energy efficiency
Summary
The European Union's policy objective is to move towards a low-carbon economy, with at least a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. This is due to the fact that heating and cooling of buildings consume almost half of the EU's energy [1]. The storage of thermal energy is possible by changing the temperature of the storage medium by heating or cooling it. This allows the stored energy to be used at a later stage for various purposes (heating and cooling, waste heat recovery or power generation) in both buildings and industrial processes. The use of renewable, lowcarbon energy sources can be improved, especially with solar technologies and Power-to-Heat concepts [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
