Technology firm Hyme Energy and potential customer Arla Foods are seeking EU funding for a 200MW thermal energy storage system project, which they claim is the largest in the world.
The 200MWh project would use Hyme Energy’s proprietary molten salt-based thermal energy storage technology at a milk powder facility in Denmark owned by Arla Foods, the fifth biggest dairy product company globally.
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Hyme Energy claimed it would be the world’s largest industrial thermal storage system, and deliver cost-effective CO2 reductions in the heat production at the Holstebro facility. It would also provide cost savings for Arla.
If built, it would convert electricity into heat and store it in molten salt tanks at a temperature above 500°C to be used in Arla’s milk powder production.
Hyme said it is tailored for energy-intensive industries like food and beverages, chemicals, and metals production, which require high-temperature process heat.
Arla has reduced its CO2 footprint by 37% from 2015 levels, and is aiming to reduce it by a total of 63% by 2030. The firm’s executive VP of supply chain David Boulanger said that Hyme’s technology is a “real breakthrough and shows potential great promise to reduce fossil fuel consumption”.
The two companies are seeking EU funding for the project, and once that funding is secured they will ‘establish the final foundation for its implementation’. Energy-Storage.news has asked Hyme for further details including when it hopes the project will come online.
Nis Benn, COO at Hyme Energy, commented on the project: “It will show that reducing CO2 emissions in large-scale industries is not only feasible but also economically attractive. We believe this project will serve as a blueprint for future deployments, and we encourage other industry leaders to join the energy transition.”
Hyme Energy brought its first megawatt-scale thermal energy storage system online last year, a 1.2MWh system at a port facility in Esbjerg.
Decarbonising industrial heat is a huge area of potential and using renewable energy to heat salt is a method opted for by other thermal energy storage technology firms, including another Denmark-headquartered company Kyoto Energy.
Front-of-meter, grid-scale projects using similar tech paired with renewables are being built in Chile and China.
Thermal energy storage mediums opted for other technology companies in the space, covered by Energy-Storage.news recently, include Rondo’s bricks made of clay, Polar Night Energy’s sand and sand-like materials, and Storworks’ concrete structure.
