[Seminar] 35th IEA Energy Storage Seminar, Task 43: Standardized Use of Building Mass as Storage for Renewables and Grid Flexibility

After three years of joint research, #Task43 is reaching its conclusion, demonstrating how thermally activated building systems (TABs) can make buildings active players in the energy transition. As Europe transitions toward 15-minute electricity markets, buildings themselves can become part of the flexibility solution. Rather than adding more batteries, we can activate what already exists, the thermal mass of buildings.

Join us as we share these findings at the upcoming 35th IEA Energy Storage TCP #OnSeminar:

📅 October 16, 2025 🕤 09:30 – 11:00 CET

📍 Online 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gbZucCr5

Within #Task43, led by Christoph Rohringer and the team at AEE INTEC, experts from across Europe have spent three years developing a standardized approach to using thermally activated slabs (TABs) as a form of thermal energy storage that supports renewable integration and grid balancing.

💡 What we’ve learned:

🌡️ Efficient heating and cooling through embedded water circuits

💑 High indoor comfort and user satisfaction

💸 Competitive costs, with TABs increasingly used in dense Austrian cities

⚙️ Yet flexibility potential remains underused, mainly due to regulatory and know-how barriers, not technical limits.

In my contribution, I will present: “Enabling Thermal Building Mass Flexibility: EU Rules, Barriers, and Policy Pathways” Highlighting how European directives (EED, RED III, and EMD Reform) can empower TABs to become a cornerstone of grid flexibility and renewable integration.

Across the EU, activating thermal mass in tertiary and residential buildings could supply ≈ 10–12 GW of short-term flexibility—equivalent to a large pumped-hydro plant fleet. Let’s move toward a future where buildings act as flexible thermal buffers, enabling a resilient and renewable European energy system.

Thanks to all the interviewed experts and participating colleagues who made this task successful: Bjarne Wilkens Olesen, wim boydens, Xzing Xue, Lieve Helsen, Daniel Ritter, Christoph Rohringer, Alireza Afshari, María Andrés-Chicote, Pablo Hernandez-Cruz, Kristin Duenzen, and Daniel Bauknecht.

#Task43 #ThermalActivatedBuildingMass #EnergyStorage #GridFlexibility #AEEINTEC #IEA #Renewables #SustainableBuildings #15MinuteMarket