Dublin, July 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Market 2026-2036" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
Thermal energy storage (TES) has become pivotal in the global energy transition, evolving from a supporting component of concentrated solar power into a crucial element of clean energy's expanding trillion-dollar storage sector. TES stands out for its cost-effectiveness in storing heat and cold compared to electricity. Roughly half of the global energy demand is for heat, and TES efficiently meets this demand by capturing surplus or inexpensive renewable electricity as heat. This heat is stored in various media like carbon, brick, ceramic, molten salts, and phase change materials, and it remains at a high temperature for extended periods. When needed, this stored heat is converted into industrial steam, hot air, or electricity, effectively decoupling the supply of intermittent renewables from the demand for heat or power.
The global TES market is growing based on four main factors: decarbonizing power and the challenging heat sector, offering grid flexibility as renewables scale, enhancing energy security by replacing fossil fuels, and significantly increasing project scale from 2025-2026. Industrial process heat is the fastest-growing TES application, surpassing power generation by the early 2030s, with Europe leading the market by revenue and Asia-Pacific experiencing the fastest growth due to robust manufacturing and supportive policies.
A significant advancement in TES is the development of large-scale industrial "thermal batteries." Projects reaching gigawatt-hour scale are being financed and constructed at industrial sites, often delivering heat under long-term offtake agreements and, in some cases, commissioning within a year. This shift marks a transition from pilot projects to bankable, industrial-scale assets, reflecting increased confidence among investors in TES's commercial viability.
Innovation drives technological advancements in TES. Companies compete on storage media—such as carbon, brick, ceramic, salt, and metal—and operational temperature, with some systems aiming for temperatures over 1,500°C to enhance power density, reduce system size, and lower costs. Meanwhile, Heat-as-a-Service contracts are becoming popular, offering flexibility by reducing initial capital investment and enabling developers to own and operate the assets.
The demand for TES is expanding beyond traditional power and process heat applications. New markets like data centers, district energy, buildings, and the cold chain show increasing interest. With backing from venture capital, corporate investments, and governmental programs, TES is poised for significant growth, transitioning from initial plants to scalable, gigawatt-hour-sized deployments crucial in decarbonizing heat and enhancing future power system flexibility.
Report contents include:
- Executive summary - market size and growth potential, drivers and barriers, emerging trends, key technology insights, TES value chain, market segmentation by technology, application, and region
- Introduction - TES technology overview, historical developments, working principles, classification, temperature ranges, centralized vs. distributed systems
- Market drivers and opportunities - decarbonization, renewable integration, energy efficiency, cost savings, grid stability, policy support, emissions trading, regional initiatives
- Applications - concentrated solar power; industrial process heat; district heating and cooling; residential and commercial buildings; long-duration energy storage; chemical looping, hydrogen production, cold chain, and refrigeration
- Technologies and materials - technology readiness, sensible and latent heat materials, thermochemical storage, electro-thermal storage
- Market analysis - market size, annual forecasts, price analysis, value-chain analysis, project case studies
- Projects and installations - operational and planned projects, cumulative capacity, regional breakdown
- Company profiles - detailed profiles of leading TES companies
Key Topics Covered
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1 Current market size and growth potential
1.2 Major market drivers and barriers
1.3 Emerging trends and opportunities
1.4 Key technology conclusions
1.4.1 TES technologies and their applications
1.4.2 Technology readiness and commercialization status
1.4.3 Future technology development and innovation roadmap
1.5 Thermal energy storage value chain and key players
1.6 Thermal energy storage market size and growth projections
1.6.1 Global market size and forecast
1.6.2 Market segmentation by technology, application, and region
1.6.3 Regional initiatives
2 INTRODUCTION
2.1 Overview of thermal energy storage technologies
2.1.1 Historical development and milestones
2.1.2 Comparison with other energy storage technologies
2.1.3 Benefits and challenges of TES deployment
2.2 Working principles of thermal energy storage systems
2.2.1 Charging and discharging processes
2.2.2 Heat transfer and storage mechanisms
2.2.3 System components and configurations
2.3 Thermal energy storage classification and applications
2.3.1 Sensible
2.3.2 Latent
2.3.3 Thermochemical storage
2.3.4 Mechanical-thermal
2.3.5 Low, medium, and high-temperature applications
2.3.6 Centralized and distributed storage systems
3 MARKET DRIVERS AND OPPORTUNITIES
3.1 Decarbonization of power and industrial sectors
3.1.1 Renewable energy integration and intermittency management
3.1.2 Emissions reduction targets and carbon pricing
3.1.3 Energy efficiency and process optimization
3.2 Grid flexibility and long-duration energy storage
3.3 Energy security and fossil-fuel displacement
3.4 Integration of renewable energy sources
3.4.1 Solar thermal and concentrated solar power
3.4.2 Wind energy and power-to-heat solutions
3.4.3 Geothermal energy and waste heat recovery
3.5 Energy efficiency and cost savings
3.5.1 Peak shaving and load shifting
3.5.2 Demand response and energy arbitrage
3.5.3 Reduced fuel consumption and operating costs
3.6 Grid stability and resilience
3.6.1 Frequency regulation and ancillary services
3.6.2 Transmission and distribution infrastructure deferral
3.6.3 Microgrid and off-grid applications
3.7 Policy support and emissions trading schemes
3.7.1 Renewable energy mandates and incentives
3.7.2 Carbon markets and emissions trading schemes
3.7.3 Building codes and energy efficiency standards
3.8 Regional initiatives and funding programs
3.9 Emerging opportunities
4 THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE APPLICATIONS
4.1 Concentrated solar power (CSP)
4.1.1 TES installations with concentrated solar power
4.1.1.1 TES deployments with CSP projects, 2008-2023
4.1.1.2 Capacity of TES (MWh) with installed CSP plants by region
4.1.1.3 Capacity of TES (MWh) with planned CSP plants by country and project
4.1.2 Parabolic trough and power tower systems
4.1.3 Molten salt and other storage media
4.1.4 Hybridization with fossil fuel and biomass
4.1.5 SWOT analysis
4.2 Industrial process heat
4.2.1 Thermal energy storage value chain
4.2.2 Key suppliers and manufacturers for TES media and materials
4.2.3 Heat as a Product and Heat as a Service
4.2.4 Thermal energy storage players
4.2.5 Global distribution of TES system installations (excluding CSP)
4.2.6 Existing and planned TES projects by industry / sector end-user
4.2.7 TES projects by commercial readiness timeline
4.2.8 TES technologies by commercial readiness level (CRL)
4.2.9 Cumulative capacity of TES systems by region
4.2.10 Cumulative capacity of TES systems by player
4.2.11 Overview of industrial heat demand by temperature and operation
4.2.11.1 Low-temperature processes (<100°C)
4.2.11.2 Medium-temperature processes (100-400°C)
4.2.11.3 High-temperature processes (>400°C)
4.2.12 TES applications for specific industrial processes
4.2.12.1 Food and beverage processing
4.2.12.2 Pulp and paper manufacturing
4.2.12.3 Chemical and petrochemical industries
4.2.12.4 Metallurgy and mining
4.2.12.5 Cement and ceramic production
4.2.13 SWOT analysis
4.3 District heating and cooling
4.3.1 Combined heat and power (CHP) systems
4.3.2 Waste heat recovery and utilization
4.3.3 Seasonal storage and load balancing
4.3.4 SWOT analysis
4.4 Residential and commercial buildings
4.4.1 Space heating and cooling
4.4.2 Water heating and thermal comfort
4.4.3 Integration with solar thermal and heat pump systems
4.4.4 SWOT analysis
4.5 Long-duration energy storage
4.5.1 Electro-thermal energy storage systems
4.5.2 TES as a technology to support adiabatic CAES and LAES systems
4.5.2.1 Adiabatic LAES system with thermal energy storage
4.5.3 Long-duration energy storage installation forecasts
4.5.3.1 Annual installations forecast by region (GWh)
4.5.3.2 Annual installations forecast by technology and segment (GWh)
4.5.3.3 Installations forecast by application and value
4.5.4 SWOT analysis
4.6 Chemical looping and hydrogen production
4.6.1 Chemical looping combustion (CLC) and reforming (CLR)
4.6.2 Hydrogen production and storage
4.6.3 Integration with carbon capture and utilization (CCU)
4.6.4 Chemical looping combustion (CLC)
4.6.5 Chemical looping hydrogen (CLH) generation
4.6.6 Sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR)
4.7 Cold chain and refrigeration
4.7.1 Food and pharmaceutical storage and transport
4.7.2 Industrial refrigeration and process cooling
4.7.3 Air conditioning and space cooling
4.7.4 SWOT analysis
5 TECHNOLOGIES AND MATERIALS
5.1 Overview
5.1.1 TES commercial readiness and technology benchmarking for industrial applications
5.1.2 Thermal energy storage working principles
5.1.3 TES system considerations
5.1.4 TES system designs to provide heat at constant working parameters
5.1.5 Thermal energy storage applications
5.1.6 Types of thermal storage systems - latent and sensible heat
5.1.7 Molten salt versus concrete as a thermal storage medium
5.2 Sensible heat storage
5.2.1 Molten salts
5.2.1.1 Nitrate salts and eutectics
5.2.1.2 Chloride and carbonate salts
5.2.1.3 Salt selection criteria and properties
5.2.2 Concrete and solid materials
5.2.2.1 High-temperature concrete and ceramics
5.2.2.2 Natural and recycled materials (rock, sand, bricks)
5.2.2.3 Compatibility with heat transfer fluids
5.3 Latent heat storage (Phase Change Materials)
5.3.1 Organic PCMs (paraffins, fatty acids)
5.3.1.1 Paraffin wax
5.3.1.2 Non-Paraffins (fatty acids, esters, alcohols)
5.3.1.3 Bio-based phase change materials
5.3.2 Inorganic PCMs (salt hydrates, metallics)
5.3.2.1 Salt hydrates
5.3.2.2 Metal and metal alloy PCMs (High-temperature)
5.3.3 Encapsulation and heat exchanger design
5.3.3.1 Benefits
5.3.3.2 Encapsulation selection considerations
5.3.3.3 Macroencapsulation
5.3.3.4 Micro/nanoencapsulation
5.3.3.5 Shape Stabilized PCMs
5.3.3.6 Commercial Encapsulation Technologies
5.3.4 Eutectic PCMs
5.3.4.1 Eutectic Mixtures
5.3.4.2 Examples of Eutectic Inorganic PCMs
5.3.4.3 Benefits
5.3.4.4 Applications
5.3.4.5 Advantages and disadvantages of eutectics
5.3.4.6 Recent developments
5.4 Thermochemical energy storage
5.4.1 Thermochemical energy storage classification
5.4.2 Thermochemical adsorption and absorption (sorption storage)
5.4.2.1 Closed salt-water hydration (sorption) process
5.4.2.2 Open salt-water hydration (sorption) process
5.4.3 Thermochemical reaction energy storage (without sorption)
5.4.4 Materials for thermochemical storage
5.4.4.1 Materials overview
5.4.4.2 Salt hydration
5.4.4.3 Metal halides and sulfates with ammonia
5.4.4.4 Metal oxide hydration
5.4.4.5 Metal oxide carbonation and redox reactions
5.4.4.6 Materials outlook and map
5.4.5 Prototypes of thermochemical energy storage systems
5.4.6 Complexities of reactor and system design
5.4.7 Thermochemical energy storage advantages and disadvantages
5.5 Electro-thermal energy storage
5.5.1 Joule heating and resistive heating
5.5.2 Induction heating and electromagnetic systems
5.5.3 Heat pumps and refrigeration cycles
5.6 Comparison of TES technologies: advantages and disadvantages
5.6.1 Energy density and storage capacity
5.6.2 Efficiency and round-trip
5.6.3 Cost and economic viability
5.6.4 Operational flexibility and response time
5.6.5 Environmental impact and safety considerations
5.7 Technology readiness levels and commercial maturity
5.7.1 Research and development (TRL 1-3)
5.7.2 Prototype and pilot-scale demonstration (TRL 4-6)
5.7.3 Commercial-scale deployment (TRL 7-9)
6 MARKET ANALYSIS
6.1 Market Size
6.1.1 By technology type
6.1.2 By application and end-use sector
6.1.3 By region
6.1.4 Annual installations by region (GWh)
6.1.5 Annual installations by technology (GWh)
6.1.6 Annual installations by market segment (GWh)
6.2 Price and Cost Analysis
6.3 Value Chain
6.3.1 Raw material suppliers and logistics
6.3.2 Component manufacturers and system integrators
6.3.3 Project developers and engineering firms
6.3.4 End-users and asset owners
6.3.5 Operation and maintenance service providers
6.4 Project case studies and deployment examples
6.4.1 Utility-scale TES projects
6.4.2 Industrial TES applications
6.4.3 District heating and cooling networks
6.4.4 Residential and commercial building projects
7 THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE PROJECTS AND INSTALLATIONS
7.1 Cumulative capacity of TES systems by region
7.2 Global overview of TES projects and installations
7.2.1 Number and capacity of operational projects
7.2.2 Planned and under-construction projects
7.3 Regional breakdown of TES projects
7.3.1 North America
7.3.2 Europe
7.3.3 Asia-Pacific
7.3.4 Rest of the World
7.4 TES projects by application and industry
7.4.1 Power generation and utilities
7.4.2 Industrial manufacturing and process heat
7.4.3 District heating and cooling
7.4.4 Buildings and construction
7.4.5 Transportation and mobility
8 COMPANY PROFILES (69 COMPANY PROFILES)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- 1414 Degrees
- Advanced Cooling Technologies Inc.
- AED Energy
- Allye Energy
- Alternō
- Alumina Energy
- Antora Energy
- Axiotherm GmbH
- Azelio
- Babcock & Wilcox
- Bedrock Energy
- BioLargo Energy Technologies
- BOCA-PCM
- Brenmiller Energy
- Caldera
- Cartesian
- Climator Sweden AB
- Croda Europe Ltd.
- Echogen Power Systems
- Electrified Thermal Solutions
- Energy Dome
- Energy Vault
- EnergyNest
- EnerVenue
- Enesoon New Energy Co. Ltd.
- Eos Energy Enterprises
- Exergy Storage BV
- Exergy3
- Exowatt
- Form Energy
- Fourth Power
- Glaciem Cooling Technologies
- Harvest Thermal
- Heatrix GmbH
- HeatVentors
- Heliogen
- Highview Power
- Hydrostor
- Hyme Energy
- i-TES srl
- Invinity Energy Systems
- Kraftblock
- Kyoto Group
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ygewkd
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