Research Tracker

The objective of this research is to design, build and test a residential / light commercial heat pump high density thermal storage (HPT) system. Various high density thermal storage materials, including Zeolite and metal organic framework (MOF) materials, will be evaluated for system size and costs. The research will build a proof-of-concept heat pump high density thermal storage (HPT) prototype to test and demonstrate the feasibility and potential of the proposed technology. This prototype will quantify the potential energy and demand savings benefits of the identified combination of the HPT and determine the controls and other requirements to enable successful load shifting and demand response capability for the developed HPT solution

In this project, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will partner with Robert Bosch, LLC and Colorado State University to develop and demonstrate a novel technology package which can overcome numerous adoption barriers and achieve energy savings as well as providing flexible demand-side management including demand response. The full scope of this project is to develop and demonstrate an innovative Home Battery System which provides electric energy storage and conversion, along with self-learning adaptive control signal outputs for appliances and reliable predictions for residential demand response. The team will develop and perform preliminary validation of customer identification program (CIP) requirements on the Home Battery System. The work will results in improved understanding of the system performance and cost tradeoffs. The project will make substantial progress toward a marketable product but may not result in a market-ready Home Battery System product.

The goal of this proposed effort is to conduct a multi-year testing and demonstration of all types of grid- and renewables-supporting services by a utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) at NRELs National Wind Technology Center (NWTC). This work will be conducted as a collaborative effort involving NREL and Powin Energy, the goal of which is to demonstrate via long-term testing the capabilities of BESS technologies to address operational and reliability challenges of integrating large amounts of variable renewable generation into the power system that are caused by resource variability, temporal mismatch between generation and demand, and forecast uncertainty.

Hydronic Specialty Supply is developing a thermal storage system with enhanced stratification and smart controls. The thermal storage system will have features that account for many of the known issues affecting current thermal storage tanks. The design and layout of the tank, including inlet and outlet ports, will be optimized for temperature stratification necessary for a hydronic heating system. However, the system will also include features allowing it to easily integrate with optional heat transfer capabilities, including solar thermal input or DHW output. The overall goal is to develop an enhanced solution for the biomass heating marketplace at an economical price point, while improving overall system performance. After design and prototype fabrication, the thermal storage system will be evaluated in an independent laboratory and field tested, with the final product being ASME certified.