Gemini Centre for Thermal Energy Storage

9–10 December 2026 · Energibygget, SINTEF Energy Research, Trondheim, Norway

TES Workshop 2026 brings the international thermal energy storage community to Trondheim on 9–10 December. Organised by the Gemini Centre for Thermal Energy Storage, a collaboration between SINTEF and NTNU, the workshop connects TES research with industrial applications, technology deployment and energy-system integration.

This year, five TES technologies are presented by technology developers from Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the USA, alongside demonstration projects, industrial case studies and the latest research. Speakers from ten countries cover industrial heat and electrification, high-temperature storage, district heating, buildings and EU policy, and two panel debates address policy, markets and integration, and technical challenges and lessons learned.

Technology providers and researchers will be joined by relevant end-users from industry and the energy sector, creating room for direct dialogue on real applications and deployment. The workshop follows directly after the IEA Tasks 74/47 and 75/48 Expert Meeting in Trondheim (7–8 December) and includes a poster session with a Best Poster Award sponsored by the EERA Joint Programme on Energy Storage.

Highlights of the 2026 edition

Speakers and presentations

Jorge Salgado Beceiro

Research Manager, SINTEF Energy Research; Leader, Gemini Centre for Thermal Energy Storage, Norway

Workshop hostWelcome and opening of TES Workshop 2026

Natasa Nord

Professor, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, NTNU, Norway

Predictive control for multi-storage system and PCM storage in district heating systems

District heating systems increasingly combine several thermal storage units, including phase change material (PCM) storage, with variable heat sources and demand. Predictive control coordinates charging and discharging across these units, and the control strategy has a direct influence on how large the storage needs to be.

Sondre Gjengedal

Senior Engineer, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Norway

Pilot projectThe Energy Wall at Campus Ullevål: use of clay for energy storage

At Campus Ullevål in Oslo, an office building uses clay as a thermal storage medium in the “Energy Wall”. The pilot explores clay, a locally available material, for building-integrated thermal energy storage and provides operational experience from a real installation. Sondre is also the Norwegian delegate to the IEA Energy Storage Technology Collaboration Programme.

Krish Chana

Sales Director, Caldera Heat Batteries, United Kingdom

Technology showcaseElectrification of heat in beverage production: the role of thermal energy storage

Beverage production relies on large volumes of steam and hot water. Caldera’s heat battery stores electricity as heat in a solid core and delivers steam or pressurised hot water on demand, allowing charging to be shifted to periods of low-cost or renewable electricity. The beverage sector serves as a case for electrifying industrial process heat with TES.

Maike Johnson

Research Engineer, DLR Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics, Germany

Green steam on demand: thermal energy storage for industrial processes

Steam supplies a large share of industrial process heat. Thermal energy storage charged with renewable electricity can provide steam on demand, decoupling heat supply from the timing of power generation. An overview of storage concepts and examples of their integration in industrial processes, drawing on DLR research.

Saman Nimali Gunasekara

Assistant Professor, Docent, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

HYSTORE PCM heating solution at KTH Live-in Lab: material, component to system design and optimisation

The HYSTORE project develops a PCM-based heating solution through every stage: material selection and testing, PCM-TES component design, and a pilot installation at the KTH Live-In Lab. Results from each stage show how material, component and system design choices interact when optimising a PCM heating system for buildings.

Dominic Groulx

Professor and Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University, Canada

IEA Task 74/47 Subtask B: how do we design TES systems?

A common basis for designing TES components helps industry compare, specify and scale storage solutions. The IEA Task 74/47 is developing design methods and design rules for TES components. An overview of the work so far, and an open invitation for industrial partners to contribute their experience.

Marios Constantinou

International Business Development Manager, EnergyIntel, Cyprus

Kyriakos Kokkinos

Head of EU Grants & Engine Development, EnergyIntel, Cyprus

Technology showcaseBeyond the pilot: making thermal energy storage a business decision

For industrial users, the case for TES rests on competitive heat costs, operational flexibility and a practical route to decarbonisation. Drawing on EnergyIntel’s experience with its high-temperature TES solution, the business rationale, integration considerations and value of TES for industrial heat and power are examined, together with what it takes to move from pilot to deployment.

Letizia Storchi

Policy Officer, Energy Storage Europe, Belgium

EU developments: what’s in it for thermal energy storage?

EU energy and climate policy is shaping the conditions for energy storage deployment across Europe. An overview of recent EU developments relevant to energy storage and their implications for thermal energy storage, from the perspective of Energy Storage Europe.

Sverre Stefanussen Foslie

Research Scientist, SINTEF Energy Research, Norway

Reducing the cost of electrification of process heat using TES

Case studies from the HiTES project assess how thermal energy storage can be integrated into industrial plants and how it can lower the cost of electrifying process heat. The results address the practical integrability of TES in existing industrial processes and the conditions under which storage makes electrification more cost-effective.

Soheil Khosravi

Postdoctoral Researcher, DTU Energy, Denmark

Thermal energy storage integration for flexible industrial e-methanol production: insights from the FlexMeOH project

Flexible operation is key for e-methanol plants supplied by variable renewable electricity. In the FlexMeOH project, DTU Energy has compared two-tank molten-salt and packed-bed TES for integration with industrial e-methanol production, covering process heat integration, technology choice, optimisation and techno-economics.

Puneet Kumar Saini

Associate Senior Lecturer, Dalarna University, Sweden

Pit thermal energy storage in the Swedish context: potential and system integration analysis

Pit thermal energy storage (PTES) allows large volumes of heat to be stored in district heating systems. An analysis of the potential for PTES in Sweden and of how such storage can be integrated into the Swedish energy system, with attention to its role in balancing heat supply and demand.

Ignacio Luque Heredia

CEO, Silbat, Spain

Technology showcaseSilbat’s melting silicon thermo-electric LDES

Silbat’s “Silicon Battery” stores electricity as heat in molten silicon at temperatures above 1,400 °C and converts it back to electricity with thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells. The technology is positioned as a long-duration energy storage (LDES) solution; its operating principle, development status and potential applications are presented.

Alexis Sevault

CTO and Co-founder, Cartesian Energy, Norway

Technology showcaseTES to solve peak cooling and peak heating in commercial buildings and data centres

Short, high peaks in cooling and heating demand drive equipment sizing and energy costs in commercial buildings and data centres. Cartesian Energy’s Thermal Box, a modular latent thermal energy storage unit, is designed to absorb these peaks. Application cases from commercial buildings and data centres illustrate how TES can be used for peak shaving.

Manas Pathak

CEO and Founder, EarthEn Energy, USA

Technology showcaseWaste heat and electricity: dual-charging ceramic-based TES by EarthEn Energy

EarthEn’s heat battery stores heat in a solid, ceramic-based media bed and can be charged either from renewable electricity or from industrial waste heat. The stored heat is delivered as steam or hot air on demand. The dual-charging concept is presented as a flexible route to decarbonising industrial heat supply.

Practical information and registration

We look forward to welcoming you to Trondheim.