IEA ES - Energy Storage
The latest developments in the energy sector require solutions such as expanding storage capacities, increasing demand-side flexibility, or a combination of both of these elements. This makes energy storage a cross-programme activity, requiring expertise from many disciplines – energy conversion, all areas of end use, and distribution – to be taken into account.
The Technology Collaboration Programme on Energy Storage (ES TCP) makes it possible to facilitate international, integral research. The aim is to develop and implement energy storage technologies to make energy systems more efficient and lower in emissions. In order to make this broad base efficient and to exploit the resulting synergies, appropriate strategies and research objectives must be developed and coordinated. The ES TCP therefore includes research activities as well as the dissemination of results and the networking of actors.
The programme focuses on the following topics:
- Thermal storage (when the final energy being stored is heat or cold)
- Electrical energy storage (such as pumped storage, batteries, compressed air, etc.)
- Material storage systems (e.g. gas tanks)
- Virtual stores (controllable loads)
Priorities and projects for 2021–2022:
- Integration of energy storage into systems analysis
- Use of artificial intelligence (AI) for virtual stores
- Energy efficient heating and cooling
- Flexible sector coupling
- Developments for average-sized storage systems
Year of foundation: 1978
Financing: exclusively through national funding of the individual project activities (task-shared)
Members: Belgium, Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain, USA, Slovenia, Turkey as well as the Federal Association for Energy Storage and the University of Seville.
Task 32 - Modelling of Energy Storage for Simulation Optimization of Energy Systems
Task 34/55 - Comfort and Climate Box
Task 35 - Flexible Sector Coupling
Task 36 – Carnot Batteries
Task 37 – Smart Design and Control of Energy Storage Systems
Task 38 – Ground Source De-icing for Infrastructures
Task 39 – Large Thermal Energy Storages for District Heating
Task 40 –Compact Thermal Energy Storage – Materials within Components within Systems
