Value for your money: this is what really counts. In its relatively short history, Wim van Helden Renewable Heat has already proven its added value. Below, some examples are shown of projects that were executed the last three years.

CIC Energigune is a new research institute in the Basque country. We mapped the most important developments and players in the area of materials for high temperature heat storage, especially for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). Through this analysis, CIC Energigune gained understanding of the most important knowledge gaps internationally, of how duplication of research could be prevented and in which way they could connect to current research and with which partners to collaborate.

The Austrian Solar Innovation Centre (ASIC) collaborates with three otherAustrian research institutes in developing the Masterplan Thermal Energy Storage AT. ASIC ordered us to collaborate in this project to set up the Austrian R&D strategy for thermal energy storage. This strategy describes which choices Austria should make in order to play an important international role in the future technologies for thermal storage, especially for solar thermal energy.

A manufacturer of heating appliances asked us to set up a technology roadmap for thermal storage. First, a list of future functionalities was made, together with the manufacturer. Then a mapping was made of those product that could provide these functionalities and a description was made of which development activities are needed in the next years, which development partners could be interesting and which means should be made available. Our technology roadmap enabled the manufacturer to draw a strategy for the medium term.

We are responsible for the co-ordination (‘operating agent’) of Task42 of the Solar Heating and Cooling program of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA brings together knowledge from different research programmes and research projects. Within Task42 this is done for the area of ‘Compact Thermal Energy Storage: Material Development for System Integration’. Because of our role as coordinator we are well informed about the latest developments in the area of compact thermal energy storage. On their request, we already brought together a number of strategic collaboration partners successfully, resulting in new cooperations.