The partnership
Kyoto Group AS is a Norway-based innovative storage company producing a thermal battery that stores green energy for the decarbonization of industrial processes. enspired works on the flexibility optimization of the asset, including minimization of associated costs and profit modeling for future market activations.
The customer
A clean energy tech company with the goal to standardize industrial decarbonization solutions, Kyoto has developed a molten salt-based thermal energy storage (TES) device. The so-called Heatcube allows for the electrification of industrial heat at a low cost, using a resistive heater technology to store energy in the form of heat at >90% efficiency, ready to be discharged as steam or hot air (within a range of 170-400°C) as needed.
“Kyoto is revolutionizing the way heat is used in an industrial setting, and enspired can elevate these ambitions to new commercial heights. In realizing our joint vision for the energy world, we ensure that decarbonization efforts are progressing while future-proofing profitability in the markets.”
Alberto Alberti
Senior Business Development Expert at enspired
The use case
Heatcube is charged with electricity to release heat at a later time. This has a direct effect on the energy transition as industrial environments exhibit a high demand for heat, which is still largely provided by gas and other fossil-based resources. enspired is currently engaged in a testing phase to identify the most suitable markets and cost-effective energy use patterns for Heatcube. In a sample market application in Germany, the thermal battery operates at 3.6 MW/h for 16 hours a day, 5 days a week, and beyond that it would sit idle.
Instead, enspired's approach is to apply cross-marketing strategies and participate in aFRR to generate additional revenues and further minimize costs. “Kyoto is revolutionizing the way heat is used in an industrial setting, and enspired can elevate these ambitions to new commercial heights. In realizing our joint vision for the energy world, we ensure that decarbonization efforts are progressing while future-proofing profitability in the markets,” Alberto Alberti, Senior Business Development Expert at enspired, comments.
The environmental edge
While Heatcube’s storage properties facilitate the expansion of renewable energy and balance out grid instabilities through integration into ancillary services, the core design aims to eliminate fossil fuels as the primary generators of industrial heat, equating to a reduction of up to 14,000 tons of CO2 a year for each Heatcube. Tim de Haas, Chief Commercial Officer at Kyoto, has high hopes for the partnership: “We see great potential in the collaboration with enspired and their innovative power trading setup. Our joint strategy will enable the full utilization of our thermal battery’s flexibility and bring an actual tool for industrial decarbonization to the power markets. As the enspired platform connects directly to Heatcube's management system, we can effectively set in motion cost-optimized charging profiles for our customers to turn the idea of a decarbonized global industry into reality.”
“We see great potential in the collaboration with enspired and their innovative power trading setup. Our joint strategy will enable the full utilization of our thermal battery’s flexibility and bring an actual tool for industrial decarbonization to the power markets. As the enspired platform connects directly to Heatcube's management system, we can effectively set in motion cost-optimized charging profiles for our customers to turn the idea of a decarbonized global industry into reality.”
Tim de Haas
Chief Commercial Officer at Kyoto