A thermal battery charges with resistance heaters, induction or a heat pump, stores the heat in bricks, sand, graphite, concrete, salt or PCM, and discharges hot air, steam or thermal oil to a process — or to a turbine.
Industrial thermal batteries let factories replace gas or coal boilers with electricity bought when it is cheapest. The business case rests on the electricity price spread, the heat value and the hours of operation.
Key facts
- Charge
- Grid, PPA or on-site renewables
- Store
- Solid, molten, PCM, TCM
- Deliver
- Steam, hot air, hot oil, power
- Caution
- Not automatically an electricity battery
Thermal battery types8
- Electric resistance thermal batteries
- High-temperature solid-media thermal batteries
- Molten-salt thermal batteries
- Phase-change thermal batteries
- Thermochemical thermal batteries
- Heat-pump-integrated thermal batteries
- Modular industrial thermal batteries
- Hybrid thermal and electrical storage systems
Main components11
- Electrical power input — Grid, PPA or on-site renewable supply
- Power conversion & distribution — Transformers, switchgear, power controllers
- Heating elements — Resistance, induction or heat-pump charging
- Thermal storage medium — Solid media, salts, PCM or TCM
- Insulated enclosure — Refractory, insulation and containment
- Heat exchanger — Transfers stored heat to the delivery circuit
- HTF circulation — Air, oil, salt or water circuits
- Steam / hot-air generation — Delivers heat in the form the process needs
- Sensors & instrumentation — Temperature, pressure, flow, state of charge
- PLC / DCS control — Charge scheduling, dispatch and interlocks
- Thermal management & safety — Over-temperature, isolation, protection
Applications8
- Renewable energy storage
- Industrial steam supply
- Process heating
- Factory energy management
- Peak electricity demand management
- Replacement or reduction of fossil-fuel-based industrial heating
- District heating
- Power generation through thermal-to-electric conversion
Heat first
Many thermal batteries are designed to deliver heat. Where heat is turned back into electricity, include the power cycle and its conversion losses in the evaluation.
Related calculators
Calculators are available to staff / admin only.
Related topics
- Power-to-HeatElectric boilers, heaters and heat pumps convert renewable or off-peak electricity into heat — directly or into storage.
- Solid MediaCheap, abundant solids store heat at high temperatures for thermal batteries, kiln and furnace heat and steam.
- Industrial HeatStorage matched to each industry's temperature, operating cycle and heat-delivery form — steam, hot air, hot oil or hot water.
- Heat-to-PowerSteam Rankine, ORC, sCO₂ and closed-cycle gas turbines convert stored or recovered heat into electricity.
Project & partnership desk
Planning Thermal Battery?
Tell us your heat demand, site and timeline — BARREL engineers, suppliers and partners will help you scope it.