CO2 savings from widespread deployment of Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage

CO2 savings from widespread deployment of Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage

Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) is an underground thermal energy storage technology that provides large capacity (of order MWth to 10s MWth), low carbon heating and cooling to the built environment. Heating and cooling currently produces 23% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. ATES can be a key technology for the UK to meet its net zero targets. ATES offers a higher overall coefficient of performance compared to conventional, open-loop shallow geothermal systems: waste heat and cool is captured and stored underground as warm and cool water, so less electrical energy is required by a heat pump to provide heating, and cooling can be delivered directly without the need for a heat pump.

ATES could make a significant contribution to decarbonising UK heating and cooling, but uptake is currently very low with eleven systems meeting of UK heating demand and 79 of cooling demand. Widespread deployment in the UK offers a 16-41% reduction in carbon emissions for heating, and 86-94% reduction for cooling, compared to equivalent ground- or air-sourced heat pump systems. A key barrier to increasing uptake is lack of awareness of the technology.

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