MINISTOR

The thermal storage system will be based on a high-performing CaCl2/NH3 thermochemical material (TCM) reaction, combined with hot and latent heat storage based on phase-change materials (PCM). The electrical storage will be a conventional system based on a Li-ion battery for flexibility and usage year-round. The storage system allows for compact storing of RES-based energy such as hybrid photovoltaic thermal panels (PVT). Furthermore, the proposed system includes a home energy management system (HEMS) to synchronise and efficiently manage the overall supply and demand at household level, responding for grid constraints and price signals. The system will provide stability, performance and use of at least 20 years. The vision of the proposed system is to reduce the net energy consumption of a building by at least 44%, and to present a return-on-investment period of 6.7 years.

The role of Psyctotherm is to design and manufacture an ammonia refrigeration cycle and a heat pump system to provide heating to the ammonia condenser, and assembly the whole system into a containerized unit.

The MINISTOR project focuses on the design and implementation of an advanced, integrated thermal energy storage system to reduce net energy consumption for heating, cooling, and domestic hot water (DHW) across five pilot sites in Europe. Psyctotherm’s role focused on the development of an ammonia-based heat pump integrated with a thermochemical material (TCM) storage vessel, enhancing the system’s efficiency and versatility. Additionally, Psyctotherm developed a PCM (phase change material) heat pump that seamlessly combined with the TCM unit, allowing the system to deliver optimized heating, cooling, and DHW solutions across diverse environmental conditions. This innovative approach provided reliable, high-performance thermal energy storage, demonstrating significant energy savings and operational durability within varied European climates.