Thermal Energy Storage Market Analysis By Type (Sensible Heat Storage, Latent Heat Storage, Thermochemical Heat Storage), By Technology, By Storage Material, By Application, By End-use, And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global thermal energy storage market size was valued at USD 3.20 billion in 2016. Increasing demand to access efficient & cost competitive energy resources is expected to positively drive the market over the forecast period.

TES is considered to be the primary renewable option for electricity generation. Heat stored by short term and seasonal TES systems are extremely helpful in balancing the variations in renewable electricity production & distribution, in a cost effective manner. TES causes no adverse impact on the environment and is a sustainable source of power. 

TES market by type in the U.S. was USD 0.52 billion in 2016 and is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period. Increasing demand for clean power resources, the regional government efforts to reduce population and presence of major players in the region are expected to propel the market in this region.

The renewable power demand has increased from various countries including, the U.S., South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, China, and India. The governments of these countries are trying to derive solutions & technologies to store the generated power from renewable sources such as tides, wind, biomass, and sun. According to the IEA, the sun is projected to be one of the largest source of power generation by the year 2050. The IEA also suggested that solar thermal electricity and solar photovoltaic systems might amount up to 11% & 16% respectively of the global electricity generation by the year 2050.

Type Insights

The use of fossil fuels has for a long time polluted our atmosphere. The air quality has degraded making it highly hazardous for human & animal cohabitation. Forests have been cut down to avail the timber and other wooden products. This has caused the migration of animals & birds. Many times these wildlings are seen wandering the streets of developed cities since they are running out of space and a healthy ecosystem to survive in. Some fossil fuels available are also degrading. These factors have led the governments across the globe to actively invest in the R&D activities to come up with environment-friendly resources. 

Sensible heat storage is carried out by altering the medium temperature. The various forms of storage medium utilized includes, sand, concrete, bricks, rock beds, oil, air, and water. Higher the amount of stored medium, higher is the mass of the medium, its specific heat capacity, and its temperature rise. The medium used for storing heat varies on the basis of required range of temperatures, and heat capacity of the medium.

In thermochemical heat storage heat stored by products is release when a reverse reaction takes place. They are divided into sorption systems and chemical reactions and provide high energy density as compared to latent or sensible heat storage systems. This is preferable for a long term storage as losses do not occur overtime but only during charging and discharging phases.

Technology Insights

Molten salt technology is used to store the heat collected by means of solar troughs and solar towers. The heat collected by means of this technology is used to enable steam turbines by converting it to superheat steam. These steam turbines are later employed to generate electricity in harsh weather conditions. This technology was first demonstrated in the solar two project in Mojave Desert, U.S. and Andalucia, Spain from 1995 to 1999. The technology depicted annual efficiency of 99%. 

Electric thermal storage heaters are commonly used in North American and European households. These heaters consist of feolite blocks and high-density ceramic bricks. These blocks and bricks are heated to a high temperature with the help of electricity. The insulation provided to it varies with the cost of the heater.

In ice based technology electricity is used to freeze water at night. The cooling capacity of this ice is used to suffice air conditioning requirements in the afternoon in order to reduce the electricity consumption. The heat of fusion acquired from water is used in this technology. The ice obtained is also employed for satisfying the cooling requirements of heat pump.

Storage Material Insights

Molten salts are employed in TES systems in order to store thermal energy. These salts remain in the solid state at standard temperature and pressure (STP), and when heated, they convert into the liquid state. The various molten salts utilized in these systems include, N-ethylpyridinium bromide, ethylammonium nitrate, aluminum chloride, bistriflimide ion, and imidazolium ions. 

Phase change materials (PCMs) can be employed to store large amounts of energy. These materials have a high heat of fusion, and they release & absorb power while changing their phase from liquid to solid or vice versa. PCMs are mostly utilized in latent heat storage systems. Various PCMs used for storing thermal power include, paraffins, salt hydrates, inorganic eutectic compounds, and hygroscopic materials.

Water is the most commonly utilized material in order to store heat, since it has a heat capacity of 4.2 J/(cm^s.K) which is considered to be one of the highest. It is often utilized in systems such as pebbles, concrete and hot rocks. The steam generated is then utilized to power the turbines which eventually generate a low cost and efficient electricity.

Application Insights

The global demand for TES is increasing owing to increasing development in variable energy sources. Power generation emerged as the fastest growing application segment and accounted for over 18.0% of the total market revenue in 2016.

The application of district cooling & heating is utilized to distribute the generated power in order to suffice commercial and residential requirements. This distributed energy is utilized for water heating, space heating, and air conditioning. The stored power is derived in cogeneration plants by burning biomass, and fossil fuels. The various systems utilized for the generation of energy for district heating & cooling applications include, central solar power, and boiler stations.

Ice is used in ice storage air conditioning for the storing of thermal power. The process is highly feasible as the heat of fusion of water is sufficiently high and can contain approximately 317,000 BTU or 334 mega joules (MJ) of energy in one metric ton of water. This application can be utilized to provide chilled water and air conditioning to a large number of commercial & residential buildings.

The others application segment consists of home power storage, and steam accumulator. The steam accumulator consists of a steel tank which contains hot steam and water under pressure. Steam accumulators are used largely in solar thermal plants & projects. They are utilized to smooth out the hills and dales in steam demand. Home systems employ the use of lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries, to locally store electricity. These systems are utilized during electricity cut-offs, to satisfy the electricity requirements.

End-use Insights

TES is extensively utilized in industrial processes and applications. In the process of annealing the metal is heated at first and then cooled down in order to separate its constituents and attain a refined microstructure. Annealing is performed when a specific metal has to cold worked on by softening it. 

The technique of normalize is employed in order to obtain steel which is stronger and has less ductility. In this process often ferrous alloys are initially subjected to austenitizing. In austenitizing the iron alloy is heated which compels it to change its crystallized structure to austenite from ferrite. Normalizing is also employed to produce bainite, martensite, and pearlite, which give the final steel metal its strong structure.

Utilities segment comprises of public services such as broadband internet, transportation, telephone, sewage, water, natural gas, and electricity. Thermal type is utilized to provide these public services at an extremely low cost. Cogeneration plants are employed to derive thermal energy and then convert it to the required form.

Thermal plants are utilized to generate electrical energy to suffice the energy demand of residential & commercial sectors. Electrical and home storage units are also employed to store thermal energy in order to provide residential & commercial buildings with heating & cooling capacity as required.

Regional Insights

Growing power demands coupled with the increasing urban population in the U.S. and Canada is expected to boost the market over the next eight years. Johnson Controls has collaborated with University of Wisconsin, in Wisconsin State, to evaluate the performance of electrical batteries for vehicles. These batteries are also being evaluated for their use in grip power supplements.

The region of CSA is characterized by heavy foreign investments in leading economies such as Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. These foreign investments have led to the establishment of financial sectors with strong roots. These financial institutions support the development of renewable energy projects in the region. According to the World Energy Outlook 2017, the projects are expected to grow significantly with diverse technologies such as, flywheel, battery compressed air, and pumped storage.

Competitive Insights

Companies including Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (CB&I), Abengoa Solar S.A., Burns & McDonell, Inc., and Baltimore Aircoil Company, Inc., have achieved forward integration by establishing their presence in the manufacturing and distribution sectors. The distribution step in the value chain consists of stations & plants, combined heat power (CHP) plants, microgrids, cogeneration plants, district heating & cooling, process cooling. 

Service providers such as DC Pro Engineering LLC, BrightSource Energy Inc., and Dunham-Bush Holding Bhd., offer TES services for end-use applications. The various applications catered to by these companies include, process heating & cooling, district heating & cooling, power generation, ice storage air-conditioning, and steam accumulator.

Report Scope 

Segments covered in the report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional & country levels and provides an analysis on the industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global thermal energy storage market on the basis of type, technology, storage material, application, end-user, and region: 

• Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Sensible Heat Storage

  • Latent Heat Storage

  • Thermochemical Heat Storage

• Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Molten Salt Technology

  • Electric Thermal Storage Heaters

  • Solar Energy Storage

  • Ice-based Technology

  • Miscibility Gap Alloy Technology (MGA)

  • Others

• Storage Material Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Molten Salt

  • Phase Change Material

  • Water

  • Others

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Process Heating & Cooling

  • District Heating & Cooling

  • Power Generation

  • Ice storage air-conditioning

  • Others

• End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Industrial

  • Utilities

  • Residential & Commercial

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • UK

    • Russia

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

  • Central & South America

    • Brazil

  • Middle East & Africa

    • Saudi Arabia