UP-FLEXH aims for solar energy to be a grid asset
The €2.4 million industrial process heat and cooling project UP-FLEXH has been co-funded under the European Clean Energy Transition Partnership.
The three-year project will develop and validate an energy system that combines solar thermal units with molten salts thermal energy storage and a first of a kind (FOAK) reverse Stirling-based high-temperature heat pump (HTHP) using Enerin’s technology.
The modular design aims to deliver process heat up to 400°C, and cooling to -5 °C, to supply on demand industrial heat availability and cooling opportunities, including the potential for flexible on-site power generation.
UP-FLEXH will reach the technology readiness level (TRL) of 5, furthering the work of the associated, current Horizon Europe I-UPS project.
The solution will target the energy demand of small to medium industries: 0.5 to 10 Megawatts thermal (MW-t) of heat demand energy that have limited space in built-up urban areas.
The expansion of the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS) policy instrument under the ETS2 will become more encompassing by enforcing environmental and emissions’ targets on to a wider range of industries, including small industrial facilities, buildings, road transport. The ETS2 is due to be enforced at the start of 2027 as part of the EU pledge to meet its climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Small to medium industries often struggle to adopt clean tech due to limited financing for the high CAPEX involved. They are often wary of payback periods beyond seven years and are hesitant to be first movers with FOAK installations, largely due to limited awareness of long-term OPEX savings.
The modularity envisioned by UP-FLEXH allows for step-by-step installations, reducing upfront CAPEX and giving end users more time to familiarise themselves with the new technologies.
The solution aims for a lower levelized cost of heat (LCOH) ranging from €15-25/megawatt hour (MWh).
The project will develop and validate an energy system that combines solar thermal units with molten salts thermal energy storage and a first of a kind (FOAK) Stirling-based high-temperature heat pump (HTHP).
Enerin is one of the six partners on UPFLEXH. The key focus areas are: High-Temperature Heat Pump Adaption, Development and Prototyping; Development and Prototyping of a Compact Heat Exchanger; Solar Thermal Collection and Development Prototyping, System Level Integration Performance and Impact Assessment, including Validation, Upscaling Recommendations and Reporting, Community Knowledge and Exploitation.
Read the press release HERE.