The Phase Change Matters e-mail newsletter is a weekly summary of the latest news and research on phase change materials and thermal energy storage. To subscribe, visit www.puretemp.com/subscribe. For more frequent updates, follow @puretemp on Twitter or visit the Phase Change Matters blog, www.puretemp.com/pcmatters.
ENERGY STORAGE
U.S. energy storage capacity poised for rapid growth
The Christian Science Monitor is calling it the “next big energy boom”: U.S. energy storage capacity is expected to more than triple over the next five years, according to a new report from GTM Research. Utility-scale installations accounted for 90 percent of new capacity in 2014, but behind-the-meter storage, such as Ice Energy‘s load-shifting Ice Bear system, is gaining momentum. Analysts predict a “break-out” year for that segment in 2015, putting it on track to make up 45 percent of the overall market by the end of 2019.
New building at Brussels Airport features seasonal thermal energy storage
The Connector, an $81 million addition to the Brussels Airport, opened to passengers this week. Seasonal thermal energy storage is among the building’s energy-efficient features. The system covers about 70 percent of the energy needed to heat the building and about 30 percent of the energy needed to cool it. Rainwater from the roof is collected in a 177,000-gallon reservoir that supplies water for sanitary use.
CALMAC’s take on behind-the-meter energy storage
Thermal energy storage pioneer CALMAC examines the state of behind-the-meter TES and sees a future teeming with possibilities:
“Intermittency issues inherent to renewable energy generation mean that continued growth in distributed and behind-the-meter storage creates new opportunities for energy storage applications in zero energy buildings. Likewise, the rise of the green building movement has clued more contractors, engineers and architects into the cost-saving advantages of incorporating solar and energy storage for behind-the-meter generation.”
TEXTILES
Outlast PCM/down filling material makes FabricLink’s Top 10
Outlast Technologies‘ Universe PCM/down filling material has won a place on FabricLink‘s list of top 10 textile innovations for 2014-2015. The filling material “adds lightness, fluffy volume and naturalness, while regulating and optimizing the climate comfort.”
The award honors commercially available materials and technologies that have launched during the past year. Other winners this year include 3M’s Thinsulate Featherless Insulation, Carhartt’s flame-resistant Extremes Arctic outerwear and Freudenberg’s nonwoven polyester lining material.
AWARDS
Ohio teen’s PCM proposal wins MIT THINK award
An Ohio teen’s proposal to use phase change material to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic panels is one of three winners in MIT‘s annual THINK competition. Aditya Jog, a sophomore at Mason High School near Cincinnati, will receive $2,000 to build his project, a $500 scholarship and project mentorship from MIT students.
“Photovoltaic cells have the potential to utilize the planet’s most plentiful renewable energy source, yet their widespread use has been impeded because of relatively low efficiency,” he wrote in his application. “The solar to electrical conversion efficiency of photovoltaic devices suffers when they operate at elevated temperatures. Current solutions rely on active heat dissipation, increasing both capital and operating costs. This proposal offers an alternative, passive heat dissipation system that employs a solid-liquid phase change material as a temperature regulator.”
The THINK Scholars Program, sponsored this year by Thomson Reuters, is run by a team of MIT undergraduate students.
NETWORKING
Connect with PCM experts and industry leaders on LinkedIn
New on LinkedIn: A group devoted to the discussion of phase change material and thermal energy storage, a place for PCM and TES experts and industry leaders from around the world to gather and share ideas. It’s called Phase Change Matters, and it’s intended as a highly interactive complement to the blog and newsletter of the same name.
You are invited to join the discussion. The first topic is off-peak cooling:
TES pioneers like CALMAC and Ice Energy have been installing ice-based energy storage systems for years. And district cooling has been around for decades. What are the main barriers to wider adoption of phase change material in these types of thermal energy storage systems? Complexity? Education? Cost?
RESEARCH ROUNDUP
From Chemical Engineering Journal:
• Synthesis of cyanoacrylate-covered xylitol microcapsules for thermal storage
From Archives of Disease in Childhood:
• Keeping babies warm: A non-inferiority trial of a conductive thermal mattress
From Energy:
• Using anaerobic digestion of organic wastes to biochemically store solar thermal energy
From Solar Energy:
From AIP Advances:
• Supercooling and cold energy storage characteristics of nano-media in ball-packed porous structures
From International Journal of Refrigeration:
• Defrosting performances of a multi-split air source heat pump with phase change thermal storage
JOB OPENING
Entropy Solutions seeks Junior Chemist for Alabama lab
Entropy Solutions has an opening at its lab in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for a skilled Junior Chemist. Candidates for this job must possess a basic knowledge of phase change materials, including synthesis and purification routes. A B.S. or M.S. degree in chemistry, with a minimum of 2 years of practical lab experience, is required.
YOUR TURN
Got a question about PCMs or TES? Ask our expert
Dr. Mohammed Farid, an Entropy Solutions advisor and professor of chemical and materials engineering at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, has agreed to answer your questions about phase change material and thermal energy storage. We’ll select the best questions sent to inquiries@entropysolutionsinc.com and post the answers here each Friday.