ITPS Hosts Conference on Thermochemical Energy Storage

On May 18, ITPS hosted the conference “Thermochemical Energy Storage as a Gamechanger for More Sustainable Energy Consumption” at the Móstoles Campus. The event featured Prof. Peter Weinberger from TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology), a partner institution in the European university alliance EULiST.

The conference addressed a key challenge in today’s energy and sustainability landscape: how can waste heat be efficiently stored and reused at a later time? In industrialized countries, thermal energy plays a crucial role in overall energy consumption, particularly for residential heating and industrial processes. Using Austria as an example, Prof. Weinberger highlighted the significance of heat demand within the broader energy system.

A central focus of the presentation was the potential of thermochemical energy storage. This technology makes it possible to decouple heat supply and demand both spatially and temporally, allowing excess heat to be stored and utilized when needed. Such solutions can contribute significantly to improved energy efficiency and more sustainable patterns of energy consumption.

Prof. Weinberger also presented several technological approaches, including systems based on salt hydrates, oxide–hydroxide reactions, and ammoniation–deammoniation processes involving transition metal salts. In addition, he discussed challenges related to reactor design at laboratory scale and the potential for scaling up these technologies into demonstration systems.

The conference provided participants with valuable insights into innovative solutions for sustainable energy use and highlighted the importance of international scientific collaboration within the EULiST alliance.