Objectives

In response to set targets for reducing our carbon footprint and securing our energy future in Europe, the CharCool project combines the use of natural energy and nature-based solutions to achieve clean and efficient cooling. CharCool is an innovative and sustainable heat-driven cooling system, where the excess of clean renewable energy or waste heat is stored in a modular thermochemical energy storage system that allows for seasonal storage. CharCool challenges the current vision of cooling industry by proposing a system that is highly flexible and reliable, thanks to its coupling with a high-energy density (200 kWh/m3) and inexpensive mid-/long-term thermochemical material. The CharCool chiller is supplied by a new interchangeable (thus rechargeable) modular thermopile made of biochar obtained from low-cost agricultural by-products, impregnated with environmentally-friendly and easily available inorganic salts. The chiller operates with water as the refrigerant, offering a completely natural and safe alternative to the current electricity-driven and environmentally-harmful cooling solutions. CharCool runs on waste heat (e.g. from data centres) or renewable energy sources (e.g. solar thermal or excess wind through power to heat) within a temperature range of 60-150 °C. This offers the advantage of decoupling the refrigeration system from the electricity grid, thus increasing the penetration of renewable energy. Moreover, mobile and modular thermopiles close the spatial and temporal gap between the heat source and the user cooling demand. CharCool clean and efficient cooling technology will reduce the volumes and cost of the current sorption systems by 40% and 50%, respectively. By investing in CharCool, Europe will assert its global research and innovation leadership while creating quantifiable social and economic impacts. This novel technology will partly address energy poverty and create value for the billion-euro-worth heating and cooling market.