The funding is awarded through the Longer Duration Energy Storage Demonstration programme, part of the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) which provides funding for low-carbon technologies and systems.
The funding will be used to conduct a feasibility study into developing a new generation of thermal storage that allows homeowners to decarbonise their homes, while benefitting from savings through on and offsite renewables generation, lower cost tariffs for flexible demand or participation in grid supporting measures. The project will bring together some of UK’s leading innovators in electrification.
The UK energy system is often portrayed as needing gas to deal with peak space heating demand. Heat pumps powered by wind from the grid are dismissed as an option with reference to occasional periods of high pressure in winter known as “dunkelflaute” which can mean up to ten days of low or no wind. This project will investigate options to increase heat storage capacity to deliver warmth and hot water during the 10 days of a dunkleflaute, when renewable energy on the grid dips.
Sunamp is proposing a system that directly replaces boilers fired by fossil fuels. A heat pump will charge renewable heat into large capacity time-shifting thermal storage, delivering space heating and hot water on demand. The bulk of input electrical energy is from offsite wind energy. Customers will have the option of part ownership of a wind farm through project partners Ripple Energy. The proposed system uses smart control logic from myenergi and a significantly large thermal storage from Sunamp to overcome lulls in wind energy supply.
Sunamp chief executive Andrew Bissell said:
“Sunamp is a world leader in commercialising temperatures using phase change materials that are useful for space heating and hot water. This funding will accelerate how we can further enhance thermal storage duration to meet the challenges of electrification of heat.”
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