Thermal Energy Storage Market Size, Share and Global Trend By Storage Type (Water, Molten Salt, Phase Change Material (PCM), Others), By Technology (Sensible Heat Storage, Latent Heat Storage, Thermochemical Storage), By Application (Power Generation, District Heating & Cooling, Process Heating & Cooling), By End User (Residential, Commercial, Industrial) and Geography Forecast till 2030

Thermal energy is a type of kinetic energy, which is produced by the heat generated with the friction of heat emitting body or object. Thermal energy can exist in the form of radiation, latent absorption, or be generated by the application of direct heat. The ill-effects of greenhouse gas emissions and the surging fuel prices have risen the demand for thermal energy storage globally. The constant rise in energy consumption will tend to increase the demand for thermal energy storage in the upcoming future.

TES systems deal with the storage of energy by cooling, heating, melting, solidifying or vaporizing material and the thermal energy becomes available when the process is reversed. TES systems can help to balance energy demand and supply on daily, weekly and even seasonal basis. They can also reduce peak demand, energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and costs while increasing the overall efficiency of the energy system.

On the basis of its storage type, thermal energy storage market can be segmented into the water, molten salt, phase change materials (PCM), and others. Ice or cold water storage is used in industrial applications. A large percentage of electricity goes into buildings, that runs air conditioning, either cooling or heating. To cope with the peak loads, particularly in summer, ice storage has been widely used. Molten salt mixture is used both as heat transfer fluid as well as a thermal energy storage medium and is the least capital cost energy system. PCM’s store and release thermal energy during the melting and freezing process and are also useful in providing thermal barriers or insulation.

On the basis of technology, thermal energy storage market can be segmented into sensible heat storage, latent heat storage, and thermochemical storage. Sensible heat thermal storage is achieved by heating the storage medium & increasing its energy content but not changing state during accumulation. On the other hand, latent heat is associated with changes in phase. The energy required during charging is used to convert a solid material in a liquid material or vice-versa. Similarly, endothermic chemical reactions require a specific temperature at which a chemical product is dissociated in a reversible chemical reaction and heat is retrieved when the synthesis reaction takes place.

On the basis of its end user, thermal energy storage market can be segmented into residential, commercial, and industrial. The residential and commercial sector is one of the major users of thermal energy storage as it is typically used in refrigeration equipment which creates a reservoir of solid material and cold water at night. This can be used during the daytime to provide cooling capacity.

The tremendous demand for a secure and reliable source of energy with the adaptation of renewable energy to mitigate the rising carbon emission is anticipating the growth of the thermal energy storage market. Rapid demand for thermal energy storage for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning is expected to boost market growth.

The thermal energy storage system is in a developing stage and needs research & development in order to achieve high efficiency which is quite expensive and can inhibit the growth of the thermal storage system market. In addition, the high installation cost is a factor which can be hinder the growth of thermal energy storage market.

Key Players Covered

Some of the major companies that are present in the global thermal energy storage market are Calmac, Abengoa Solar, Cadwell Energy, Baltimore Aircoil Company, Climate Change Technologies, Vattenfall, SaltX, Azelio, Brightsource Energy, DC Pro Engineering, Evapco, DN Tanks, Burns & Mcdonnel, Ice Energy Technologies Inc., Steffes Corporation, Fafco, Dunham-Bush Holding Bhd, Acciona, Engie, and Sener Group.

SEGMENTATION

Regional Analysis

The thermal energy storage market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. In North America, the U.S. witnesses the highest demand for thermal energy storage. The demand is due to high energy storage capacity. Thermal energy storage is used to provide the cooling capacity to commercial buildings, by producing chilled water during low demand hours and then using it during high demand hours. The recent development in seasonal thermal and molten thermal storage have allowed energy storage at day time and in summer season while the consumption at night and in the winter season. Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth rate, owing to the rise in population, increase in energy use, and an upsurge in the demand for renewable energy sources. European countries are highly concentrating on green energy and thus, they are more inclined towards thermal energy which is expected to boost the thermal energy market in Europe.

Key Industry Developments

• In Mar 2019, Climate Change Technologies has launched its thermal energy storage which is a modular energy storage unit that accepts any kind of electricity- solar, wind, etc. and uses it to heat up and melt silicon in a heavily insulated chamber.In May 2019, Vattenfall, a leading European energy company and a Swedish company SaltX Technology have commissioned an industrial scale pilot to test nano-coated salt-based energy storage technology which enables thermal energy to be stored chemically and provides long term solution.In May 2019, Azelio unveiled its storage technology, which features a Stirling engine for dispatchable electricity production. Electricity from a wider range of renewable sources can be received and stored as thermal energy.