High-temperature heat storage could make the industry more sustainable
A new concept for high-temperature heat storage, developed by researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), promises more efficient and environmentally friendly energy use in high-temperature industrial applications. This approach could significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels.
Industrial sectors such as steel and cement production require continuously high temperatures, which are currently largely generated by fossil fuels. This practice is responsible for around a fifth of total energy consumption in Germany and is increasingly being criticised due to its environmental impact.
To meet this challenge, work is being carried out worldwide on the development and implementation of technologies that can integrate renewable energies more efficiently into existing industrial processes. One promising approach is the use of high-temperature heat storage systems, which store energy in the form of heat so that it can be made available on demand without any loss of quality.
KIT is currently researching an innovative heat storage system based on a liquid metal mixture of lead and bismuth. This mixture is characterised by its outstanding thermal conductivity, which is up to 100 times higher than that of conventionally used materials. In the KIT laboratory, this metal mixture is heated in a circulation system and passed through a layer of small ceramic beads that can absorb and store the heat.
This system enables flexible and efficient utilisation of the stored energy by releasing the heat as required. The use of renewable energy to generate the initial heat could thus reduce dependence on fossil fuels and significantly reduce CO2 emissions in energy-intensive industries.
This technological innovation represents a significant step forward in the endeavour to make industrial processes more environmentally friendly and could lead to more sustainable industrial production in the long term.