Using energy from waste to decarbonise heat
High grade waste heat is an abundant energy source which is lower carbon than alternatives such as gas, heat pumps or direct electricity, but it is often generated in locations far from demand.
The Thames Mobile Heat project would overcome this by collecting surplus heat from Cory’s Riverside energy from waste facility in Bexley, then moving it in large Sunamp thermal batteries via the River Thames to serve major heat consumers, such as district heat networks.
This is one of the options being considered to decarbonise the Pimlico District Heating Undertaking (PDHU), which is the UK’s oldest district heating scheme and supplies over 3000 homes and 50 commercial and community buildings. 240MWh of waste heat would be captured each day, stored in shipping containers, and transported by barge 28km along the Thames to Pimlico in central London.
Storing waste heat in thermal batteries using phase change materials
The Thames Mobile Heat project would use shipping container size Central Bank heat batteries from Sunamp, a world leader in thermal storage technologies. Central Bank heat batteries use Plentigrade, a high-performance phase change material (PCM) to collect surplus heat from the energy from waste plant and release it when it’s needed, reliably, safely, and efficiently. The batteries are based on salt and are non-flammable and non-toxic.
Moving heat along the River Thames ‘green’ highway
Cory has been operating barges on the Thames for over 200 years and has the largest fleet on the river. It is also one of the UK’s leading recycling and waste management companies and would be responsible for providing the waste heat and the marine logistics for moving the thermal battery shipping containers between Bexley and Pimlico. Each barge would hold 40 Central Bank shipping containers and there would be no need to load and unload.
Connecting to the district heating system
Sheen Parkside, a net-zero infrastructure arranger, has partnered with Sunamp and Cory to develop the Thames Mobile Heat project.
At the PDHU the Central Bank heat batteries would discharge using a piped connection to the energy centre. Heat is discharged by running a cooler fluid through the battery, enabling the phase change reaction to release heat at a constant temperature. The solution could be deployed rapidly and with minimal disruption to the PDHU, which could then use the heat to supply homes and community and commercial buildings.
