Technologies of Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) and Swedish Case for Hot Water

Abstract Thermal energy storage is defined as the temporary storage of thermal energy at high or low temperatures for later use in need. The energy storage can reduce the time or rate mismatch between energy supply and demand, and thus it plays an important role in conserving energy and improving the efficiency of energy utilization, especially for renewable energy sources which provide energy intermittently. Underground thermal energy storage (UTES) can have additional advantages in energy efficiency thanks to low thermal conductivity and high heat capacity of surrounding rock mass. In this paper, we introduced the technologies of underground thermal energy storage an