Heat battery manufacturer Sunamp, Cory, one of the UK’s pioneering waste management companies, and Sheen Parkside, an arranger of innovative low-carbon infrastructure projects, have formed a consortium to decarbonize heating by moving waste heat along the River Thames in thermal batteries.
The Thames Mobile Heat Consortium will take heat from along the river – initially from Cory’s Riverside energy from waste (EfW) plant, located on the banks of the Thames in Belvedere – store it in Sunamp thermal batteries, and transport it via barge to major heat consumers, such as district heat networks.
British clean technology
The consortium is in discussion with a number of potential heat consumers along the river and has recently completed a detailed feasibility study.
The project will use world-pioneering phase change thermal storage, developed by Sunamp
The project will use world-pioneering phase change thermal storage, developed by Sunamp and the University of Edinburgh, helping to reinforce British clean technology leadership and drive investment in UK supply chains. The batteries use a salt-based, non-toxic, long-duration phase change material (PCM), and will be housed in specially designed shipping containers making them easy to transport by barge.
Cory’s waste transfer operation
When transporting heat, the thermal batteries remain on the barge at all times. At the discharge location, a water pipe is run out along a jetty and draws heat from the batteries via an internal heat exchanger. Cory will oversee the marine logistics of the project; the company currently transports most of the waste it processes via a fleet of tugs and barges and has the longest continued lighterage operation on the Thames. This would be run as an independent logistics operation from Cory’s waste transfer operation.
One potential consumer is the Pimlico District Heating Undertaking (PDHU), owned and operated by Westminster City Council, which is considering it as one of several options for decarbonization. The PDHU is the oldest district heating scheme in the UK, supplying over 3000 homes and 50 commercial and community buildings, and originally took waste heat from Battersea Power Station.
Completion of planning and approvals
Heat would be transported on two barges, each carrying up to 120 MWh in 40 batteries
If the Thames Mobile Heat Consortium does supply the PDHU, it has the scope to provide c.50 GWh of heat per year, which is currently provided by large gas boilers. Heat would be transported on two barges, each carrying up to 120 MWh in 40 batteries, traveling 28km each way along the river.
Heat supplied on this basis has been modeled to provide heat at 12 g CO2/kWh or lower, which is a substantial reduction compared to gas which is modeled at c.216 g CO2/kWh (each calculated according to the UK Treasury Green Book methodology). From the completion of planning and approvals, and the final commercial agreement, this could be operational in less than a year.
Electricity grid upgrades
The project has the added use of easing aid on imported fuel and bringing costs down for clients
As district heating expands across London, and other large heat users seek to move away from gas, the project has the potential to provide lower carbon heat, rapidly and at scale. It is not dependent on electricity grid upgrades – which are sometimes required to support large heat pumps – and can supply legacy gas-boiler flow temperatures, which heat pumps can struggle to reach efficiently.
The project has the added benefit of reducing reliance on imported fuel and bringing costs down for customers. As the heat does not come from an electrical source, it can also help to balance when demand is placed on the UK’s national grid, which will be a critical challenge as the UK turns to electricity to decarbonize heating.
New era of sustainable energy distribution
William Edrich, Global Head of C&I at Sunamp, said: "By harnessing the power of large-scale thermal batteries, we are not just transporting waste heat; we are delivering a global solution to the pressing challenge of our time – the decarbonization of heat. Together with our consortium partners, we are bringing forward a new era of sustainable energy distribution and demonstrating the application of our world-pioneering thermal storage technology to the industrial sphere and heat networks.”
Chris Girdham, Development Director of Cory, said: “At Cory, we are proud to provide a vital public service that diverts non-recyclable waste from landfill. The EfW process produces huge amounts of heat, and rather than seeing this valuable resource go to waste we want to use it to benefit communities in the UK which are seeking to cut carbon emissions and keep energy bills down. By moving heat to where it’s most needed, we can help to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and maintain the UK’s role as a clean energy innovator.”
UK’s territorial carbon footprint
David Carter, Co-Founder & CEO of Sheen Parkside, said: “Over a third of the UK’s territorial carbon footprint comes from burning gas and oil for heating. At the same time, the country wastes a huge of amount of high-grade industrial heat, simply because it’s in the wrong place."
"Using thermal batteries we can move that heat efficiently. These mobile heat networks can be set up rapidly, flexibly and at scale.”
Connect sources of heat
The project’s application is not limited to London. As communities across the UK seek to reduce emissions from heating, the project can be scaled and replicated to connect sources of heat that would otherwise be wasted with the consumers and businesses who will benefit from it.
Work on this project has been supported by Akin and Pinsent Masons (legal advisers), AECOM (technical advisers), Ener-Vate (commercial consultants), Fichtner (owner’s technical advisers at Riverside), Houlder (naval architects), and Mazars (modeling), as well as numerous other companies across the supply chain. Input has also been gratefully received from Triple Point.
