Transportation of Thermal Energy Utilizing Thermal Energy Storage Technology

A key component in a sustainable energy system is to be able to use thermal energy from various sources at a consumer located at a distance from theses sources. For this purpose, the thermal energy has to be transported from one place to another. This could be achieved by using thermal energy storage technology. Depending on the distance, the storage medium could either be pumped through pipelines or for longer distances the TES itself could be transported on a truck or a train. The crucial properties of the TES for the technical and economical feasibility are the storage capacity per volume and weight and the possible charging and discharging power, which affects the possible number of storage cycles per time.