Alliance will stimulate ground thermal storage
The application of inter-seasonal energy storage has received a boost with the formation of a strategic alliance between polymer specialist Rehau and Icax, developer of the Interseasonal Heat Transfer system (IHT) for using the ground beneath a building to store heat when the building is cooled in the Summer and release that heat in the Winter.
After successful trials and pilot projects Icax has appointed Rehau as the key supplier of PE-Xa pipework for the ground arrays for its solar ThermalBanks and solar collectors.
The alliance between the two companies is based on Rehau’s expertise in the polymer industry, with a 40-year history in designing and manufacturing pipework for the underfloor-heating, civil-engineering, plumbing and renewable-energy sectors.
A recent unusual project involved the two companies working on a pilot project for the Highways Agency in which IHT technology was successfully used to capture solar energy from the road in the Summer, store it in ThermalBanks in the ground and release it back to the road during the following Winter to keep the road free from ice.
