ZEB Lab at SINTEF research center

Storing solar energy in a zero-emission building

Trondheim - Norway

Stored on-site: Solar+
SINTEF- Europe's largest independent research institute: International recognition
Open dataset: R&D

The challenge

The ZEB Laboratory is a joint research and development facility for zero-emission buildings managed by SINTEF and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The vision of the building is to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions caused by the construction, operation, and disposal of buildings.

The solution

2,000 square meters of flexible office and research space has been built and installed with several technical and constructional novelties to keep emissions at a bare minimum. Our Thermal Box is one important contributor to reduce peak energy consumption.

The results

In this arena, new and innovative materials and solutions are developed, investigated, tested, and demonstrated in mutual interaction with humans. Current energy flow can be accessed here: https://zeblab.no/

Common questions

Got questions about thermal storage?

From PCM chemistry and lifetime to indoor vs outdoor installs and typical payback — the answers are in the full FAQ.

Read all questions

What is thermal energy storage?

The term is used when storing energy as heat or cold, which can be released at a later stage. The heat or cold is usually stored when energy is cheap and then released when the heating or cooling demand is at a peak or the cost of energy is high.

What is PCM?

PCM means Phase Change Material and refers to any material that changes state, for example from solid to liquid, when reaching a certain temperature. This phase change enables large amounts of energy to be absorbed or released. Water is one PCM, storing cold at zero degrees Celsius by changing phase to ice. Cartesian uses a wide variety of other materials, such as bio-based waxes, to store heat or cold at different temperatures.

Is the Thermal Box and the PCM flammable?

For applications with HVAC systems, Cartesian's Thermal Box is not considered flammable. While some PCM might be flammable when they reach temperatures above 100 °C or more, the Thermal Box is designed to eliminate any risks of reaching flammability conditions in operations.

Are PCMs safe?

Cartesian offers only safe PCMs and primarily uses bio-based PCMs in the Thermal Box. The PCM will stay in the Thermal Box for its whole lifetime and is not consumed during operation. The Thermal Box is also designed to avoid any risk of PCM leakage.

Let's build the smarter grid

Talk to an engineer about your building today — we'll get back to you within 24 hours.

Book a 30-min consultation Become a partner

No fluff. Sized to your load profile.