CO-COOL · Collaborative development of renewable/thermally driven and storage-integrated cooling technologies

Collaborative development of renewable/thermally driven and storage-integrated cooling technologies

1.Problem: Cooling is the fastest-growing use of energy in buildings but is also one of the most critical blind spots in today’s energy debate. Rising demand for space cooling is putting enormous strain on electricity systems in many countries, as well as driving up emissions.However, current technologies often face limitations in cost, scalability, and efficiency. Accordingly, the targets are only achievable with fast development and deployment of new efficient and effective cooling technologies driven by either ‘renewable electricity/heat’ or waste heat. 2.Important for Society: Energy storage is a cornerstone of the transition to sustainable energy systems, ensuring stability and reliability in grids dominated by intermittent renewable sources such as solar and wind power. Comparing to heat, power, and transport, cooling had long been under-represented in the EU energy policy until 2016 when the European Commission took the first step with the launch of its Heating and Cooling Strategy. The strategy identifies actions of ‘increasing the share of renewables’ and ‘reuse of energy waste from industry’ as two key areas for decarbonizing cooling to meet the EU’s climate goals by 2050.By leveraging advance cooling storage technology, society can achieve greater energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and optimize renewable energy integration. Facilitating cross-border cooperation accelerates innovation and ensures equitable access to cutting-edge technologies, addressing global challenges of climate change and energy security. 3.Overall objectives: This CO-COOL RISE project assembles an international, interdisciplinary consortium from 12 research institutions and 5 industrial companies to collectively accelerate the cooling technology development and deployment, with complementary expertise/skills including composite solids, phase change materials (PCMs), complex fluids, process intensification (heat and mass transfer), cold thermal storage, refrigeration systems, as well as techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA), marketing analysis, and entrepreneurship skills. Promote cooperation among EU member states and partner countries through the regular secondment of researchers, creating a vibrant network of experts in advance cooling energy storage. Based on the innovation of composite solids (sorbents/PCMs) and fluids (PCMs and hydrate slurries) as well as related components and systems, the project aims to develop renewable/recoverable energy driven, storage-integrated cooling technologies which could offer energy resource-efficient and cost-effective solutions to meet end-users’ low carbon cooling demand. Besides, the CO-COOL Rise project bridge the gap between academic research and industrial application by engaging stakeholders from both sectors, paving the way for commercialization.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union