Lead Performer: Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Oak Ridge, TN
Partner: Georgia Institute of Technology — Atlanta, GA
DOE Total Funding: $2,550,000
FY19 DOE Funding: $850,000
Project Term: October 1, 2018 – September 30, 2021
Funding Type: Lab Call
Project Objective
Paraffins are the most commonly deployed PCM today. Paraffin PCMs have typical material costs of $20-40/kWh, making them too expensive for most building applications (whether for envelope or equipment). Some salt hydrate materials are available for under $2/kWh, but have technical challenges and require expensive integration with large surface area heat exchange surfaces, due to the low thermal conductivity.
This project will develop a stable, low-cost salt hydrate, using a novel technique for incorporating compressed expanded natural graphite (CENG). The low cost of the CENG-salt hydrate composite PCM will enable it to be used in a variety of thermal storage buildings applications. In this project, the team will expand on recent work to address the technical challenges for cost-effective deployment of salt hydrate-based thermal storage for building applications. ORNL’s molecular dynamics, neutron and X-ray imaging and scattering techniques for materials characterization will be employed in the development to enable rapid prototype development.
Project Impact
When successful, this project will advance the state of the art by realizing a 10x reduction in the cost of deploying PCMs for building envelopes or equipment. This leads to significant peak load reductions, energy savings, and investments in manufacturing novel composite PCMs.
Contacts
DOE Technology Manager: Sven Mumme
Lead Performer: Kyle Gluesenkamp, ORNL