A heat exchanging thermal liquid container system that comprises a main body at least partially defining a liquid reservoir structured and operable to retain a liquid, and a phase change material (PCM) liner comprising a PCM liner PCM having a selected melting temperature, and/or at least one PCM pod. Each of the at least one PCM pod(s) comprising a respective PCM pod PCM having a respective selected melting temperature. Wherein the PCM liner and/or the at least one PCM pod are disposable within the liquid reservoir such that when a liquid is disposed within the liquid reservoir the liquid will contact at least one of the PCM liner and the at least one PCM pod such that thermal energy can be exchanged between the liquid and the respective at least one of the PCM liner PCM and the at least one PCM pod PCM.

Energy storage systems are disclosed. The systems may store energy as heat in a high temperature liquid, and the heat may be converted to electricity by absorbing radiation emitted from the high temperature liquid via one or more photovoltaic devices when the high temperature liquid is transported through an array of conduits. Some aspects described herein relate to reducing deposition of sublimated material from the conduits onto the photovoltaic devices.

An energy storage and retrieval system is disclosed. The system includes a heat generating layer for generating thermal energy based on combusting a combustible substance and a thermal energy storage layer located to receive thermal energy from the heat generating layer. The thermal energy storage layer includes a thermal energy storage material to store thermal energy. The system also includes a thermal energy retrieval layer thermally connectable to the thermal energy storage material and configurable to retrieve thermal energy from the thermal energy storage layer.

A method of forming a thermal energy storage unit for a surface to be cooled or heated includes using an additive manufacturing process to form a plurality of non-rectilinear structures having a plurality of thermally conductive substructures, the substructures defining a plurality of interior cavities within the substructures and a plurality of exterior fluid channels that cross over or under the plurality of interior cavities, arranging the plurality of non-rectilinear structures in a plurality of housings, wherein each of the plurality of non-rectilinear structures is arranged in a corresponding one of the plurality of housings, and connecting the plurality of housings to each other to build up the thermal energy storage unit whereby the thermal energy storage unit is modular.

A cooling system transfers thermal energy from a temperature-critical reservoir to a heat sink. The system has an intermediate reservoir which is thermally interposed between the temperature-critical reservoir and the heat sink. The intermediate reservoir serves as an energy buffer between the two reservoirs by accepting thermal energy from the temperature-critical reservoir, storing that energy, and then transferring it to a heat sink by means of a temperature-driven process rather than by means of a heat pump. Transfer of thermal energy from the intermediate reservoir to the heat sink is temporally coordinated with naturally occurring temperature variations of the heat sink so that all thermal energy transfer processes conducted by the system are temperature-driven.

A device for receiving, storing and releasing thermal energy, the device comprising a thermally insulated enclosure defining a cavity; at least one thermal energy storage material disposed within said cavity; at least one energy source configured for charging said thermal energy storage material with thermal energy; and a thermal energy converter configured for receiving thermal energy from said thermal energy storage material; wherein said thermally insulated enclosure comprises an inner wall, an outer wall and a substantially gas-tight interior void delimited by the inner wall and the outer wall, and wherein the outer wall comprises at least one flow regulator in fluid communication with the interior void and configured to supply and remove working fluids to and from the inner void.

A thermal management system includes a closed-circuit refrigeration system that includes a vapor cycle system (VCS) and a liquid pumping system (LPS). The VCS includes a receiver that stores a refrigerant fluid and a liquid separator. The vapor cycle system is configured to operate in one or more operational modes including at least one of a TES cooling mode, a heat load cooling mode, or a pump-down mode. The LPS includes a thermal energy storage (TES) that stores a phase change material (PCM) and a pump fluidly coupled to at least one evaporator. The evaporator is configured to extract heat from a heat load that is in thermal conductive or convective contact to the evaporator to transfer heat to the refrigerant fluid and provide the refrigerant fluid from an evaporator outlet to the TES.

A heat sink may comprise a core body having a phase change material cavity enclosed therein; and a phase change material disposed within the phase change material cavity comprising a paraffin wax and/or a fatty acid ester.

Thermal management systems for cooling high-power, low-duty-cycle thermal loads that include at least three thermally coupled, closed subsystems are provided. Thermal management systems provided herein include a main thermal energy storage loop including a cold-temperature tank and a warm-temperature tank. Thermal management systems provided herein also include a multi-stage compression system or a cascaded architecture of a low-temperature vapor compression system and a high-temperature vapor compression system. Methods of transferring heat from one or more thermal loads to an ambient environment are also provided.

A heat exchange apparatus for cooling water of a fuel cell includes a body, through which a cooling water pipe having cooling water flowing therethrough to be supplied to a fuel cell stack, passes; and a heat accumulator provided in an interior of the body and filled with a PCM heat accumulation material that exchanges heat with the cooling water. The body includes a medium space provided between the cooling water pipe and the heat accumulator such that the heat accumulator is spaced apart from the cooling water pipe. The PCM heat accumulation material exchanges heat with the cooling water by a medium of the medium space.