Provided is a heat storage including a container including a first container made of ceramics and a second container made of ceramics, the first container and the second container being combined, and a heat storage material housed inside the container. The first container and the second container are bonded via a bonding member. A volume occupied by pores in the first container, in a first contact region including a surface section in contact with the bonding member, is greater than a volume occupied by pores in regions other than the first contact region. A volume occupied by pores in the second container, in a second contact region including a surface section in contact with the bonding member, is greater than a volume occupied by pores in regions other than the second contact region.

There are herein described energy storage systems. More particularly there are provided thermal energy storage systems comprising battery assemblies containing phase change materials and a monitoring system therefor. In addition there are provided thermal stores comprising battery assemblies having integral control means for management of the thermal energy provided by the battery assembly.

A controllable phase change material bag and a preparation method and an application thereof are provided. The preparation method comprises the following steps: 1, form a metal plate or a metal bar with a rough surface, embedding a powder seed crystal that induces a phase change material to nucleate on the surface, then placing the metal plate or the metal bar in a sodium acetate solution to obtain a controllable trigger metal electrode (1); and 2, mixing a sodium acetate trihydrate crystal, water and a thickener to obtain an oversaturated phase change heat storage solution, pouring the solution into a metal ball (2), carrying out encapsulation after inserting the controllable trigger metal electrode obtained in the step 1 and a conducting electrode (3), and finally placing in the water bath to preserve heat to obtain the controllable phase change material bag.

The invention comprises at least one gas compressor, at least one compressed gas storage, at least one expander for expanding the compressed gas for generating energy, and at least one heat storage, wherein the heat storage comprises a staged arrangement at least two fixed beds of heat storage particles and at least one discontinuity in a thermal gradient located between two adjacent beds.

Disclosed are systems and methods of flexibly cooling thermal loads by providing a thermal energy storage cooling system having a nucleation cooling system for at least initiating nucleation of a phase change media within the thermal energy storage system.

The invention provides, in some aspects, a thermal energy storage and retrieval system with a cavity containing a working fluid and a heat transfer surface disposed in the cavity transverse to a gravity field and in thermal coupling with an ice that is formed from and floating in the working fluid. The heat transfer surface transfers to that ice heat from a heat transfer medium that is thermally coupled to the heat transfer surface. According to aspects of the invention in which the ice is less dense than the working fluid, the heat transfer surface is disposed above (with respect to the gravity field) a region of the cavity where that ice is formed or inlet. According to aspects of the invention in which the ice is more dense than the working fluid, the heat transfer surface is disposed below that region.

A cooling circuit comprising a liquid circulation path and arranged on the path: in series, an engine and a radiator, mounted on a first branch in parallel between the inlet and outlet of the radiator, a store-exchanger containing at least one volume: enclosing elements for storing and releasing thermal energy, involving a phase change material PCM, placed in a heat exchange relationship with said liquid, and around which are arranged at least one first layer containing a PCM and one second layer containing a porous thermally insulating material, and valves so positioned as to direct the circulation of the liquid arriving from the engine toward the radiator and/or the store-exchanger.

A heat storage apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a casing, a heat storage material, and movable components. An internal space in the casing is partitioned into a plurality of spaces. The heat storage material is located in each of the plurality of spaces. At least one movable component is disposed in contact with the heat storage material in each of the plurality of spaces, and is capable of changing a position thereof relative to a position of the casing as time proceeds.

A system including a chilled air generation system, a forced air convection system, one or more phase change material (PCM) modules, and a controller. The controller is configured to regulate the temperature of a facility by selectively utilizing the chilled air generation system and the forced air convection system based on multiple factors, which may include energy source type(s), relative costs of the energy from the source(s), availability of energy from the source(s), facility temperature, PCM module temperature, and/or temperature of goods stored within the facility, among other considerations. The controller may thus advantageously and cost-effectively control the periods of time during which the chilled air generation system is used and those during which the thermal energy stored in the PCM modules is used.

In one aspect the invention provides a heat transfer apparatus which includes a transmitter object which defines an external collection surface and an internal transmission surface. Also provided is a receiver object displaced from the transmitter object, the receiver object defining an internal receiving surface and an external heat delivery surface. A thermal conduit is provided which incorporates at least one side wall connected between the transmitter object and receiver object, this at least one side wall spanning the distance between the transmitter object and receiver object and enclosing a volume between the transmitter and receiver objects. This side wall or walls enclose the internal transmission surface of the transmitter object and the internal receiving surface of the receiver object. The transmitter object, receiver object and thermal conduit are configured to promote heat transfer predominantly towards the receiver object.