News #8

3D-printed Thermal Energy Storage: Fraunhofer ISE Launches New Project for the Heat Transition

Intelligent storage technologies are needed to ensure the success of the energy transition. Thermal storage systems can efficiently store heat from renewable energies. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is conducting research into the use of 3D printing technology to manufacture thermal energy storage systems from ultra-high-performance concrete. The institute is collaborating with partners from industry and research to achieve this goal.

© m-tec mathis technik GmbH
The DRUCKSTORE project will develop small-scale 3D printing of thermal energy storage systems from ultra-high-performance concrete.

With the newly launched "DRUCKSTORE" project, the partners aim to lay the foundations for 3D concrete printing of thermal storage systems and reduce costs through a high degree of functional integration, thereby also improving the economic efficiency of thermal storage systems. 3D printing allows storage systems to be produced in a variety of shapes and sizes. In addition, 3D printing of concrete has the potential to reduce material usage and personnel requirements on construction sites compared to conventional concrete construction. By selecting suitable concretes, storage tanks can potentially be manufactured for the low-temperature range (approx. -30 °C) up to the high-temperature range (approx. 1000 °C).

The Clou:  Ultra-high Performance Concrete

The project team plans to use ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). Due to its increased strength compared to conventional types of concrete, wall thicknesses can be significantly reduced. This, together with the use of suitable structural engineering solutions, should increase resource efficiency compared to conventional solutions and reduce CO2 emissions during production by reducing the amount of material used. Since UHPC allows for very delicate construction, the plan is to print not only the storage shell but also other storage components such as diffusers, stratified storage systems, and thermal insulation. "The flexibility of 3D printing means that storage facilities can also be created in unfavorable spatial situations. Space can be used more efficiently and land consumption reduced," explains Stefan Gschwander, project manager at Fraunhofer ISE.

Thanks to the high level of functional integration possible and the associated reduction in the number of steps required to create a storage system, as well as resource efficiency, investment costs are expected to fall compared to the current state of the art. The DRUCKSTORE project will initially develop and test small-scale 3D printing of thermal energy storage systems. In the future, the knowledge gained will help to develop the technology and expertise for printing very large storage units (on a scale of 100 to 1000 m³).

The project partners are IPROconsult GmbH, IAB Weimar gGmbH, and m-tec mathis technik GmbH. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) with around €2.3 million.

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