Yvonne Bäuerle

Renewable Metal Fuels (ReMeF) are seasonal energy carriers which are able to enhance the energy security. We investigate the contribution that ReMeF can make as combined heat and power elements of the building stock a) to cover the local demand for electricity and heat and b) to feed electricity into the grid to support the energy system. In focus are metals as winter-energy suppliers based on their availability, cost, and chemical properties, which potentially can achieve greenhouse gas savings compared to import-options or natural gas based systems. PeakMetal is co-funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), and lasts from December 2022 to December 2023.

SPF has the technical lead in the EU Horizon Europe project reveal. Within this project, a seasonal energy storage cycle is developed that is based on the oxidation and reduction of aluminum as an energy carrier. The main responsibilities of SPF, besides the technical lead, is the development of technologies for Alu-to-Energy conversion: the conversion of energy that is stored chemically within the aluminium into heat and power. This development is in close collaboration with the institute UMTEC of OST. REVEAL is co-funded by the European Unions Horizon Europe Programme and Swiss State Secretariate for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), and lasts from July 2022 to June 2026.

Since October 2021 the Institute for Solar Technology SPF is working in an international team for the EU-funded project SophiA. The focus is on sustainable, off-grid supply solutions for healthcare facilities in Africa.

Solar-based systems will be used to provide electricity, heating, cooling and clean water in container modules for remote regions.

Within this project the potential of large thermal energy storages to facilitate the decarbonisation and simultaneous expansion of thermal networks are analysed. Different techniques of short-, medium- and long-term heat storage are considered. The focus is on the replacement of fossil peak load, the increased integration of waste heat, the shift of energy from summer to winter, and innovative approaches of sector coupling to balance production and demand of electricity.

The analyses are carried out on the one hand using representative generic thermal networks, and on the other hand for specific case studies of the participating industrial partners. In this way, generally valid results can be achieved, as well as a high probability to induce real pilot and demonstration projects.