Bio-based PCM: Technical and commercial viability of bio-based PCM obtained from by-products of the agro-food industry [2019PROD00101]

[Call: Grants from “Indústria del Coneixement” for the year 2019 (Llavor i Producte), susceptible to be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) Modality B. Producte Grants aimed at obtaining prototypes and the valuation and transfer of results of research generated by research teams in Catalonia]

The project aims at validating the technical and commercial viability of new bio-based phase change materials (PCMs) (product) prepared from fatty acids and glycerol. PCMs are materials used largely in thermal energy storage applications that use latent heat for such storage, as opposed to materials that use sensible heat, such as hot water. The best known PCM is ice, widely used in the Asian air conditioning market. This new product has been patented showing a substantial improvement of energy density performance (measured with phase change enthalpy) compared to products with similar characteristics currently on the market. The commercial viability will be studied using oils and fats of low commercial value as feedstock, such as those found in the ABPs (by-products of animal origin not intended for human consumption) materials. 

This aspect of innovation is reflected in the project investment priorities, which are distributed as follows: 59% in proof-of-concept development, 29% in valorisation and 12% in knowledge transfer.

This project has received the support of the Secretaria de Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya and is co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)