Kyoto unveils commercial installation of groundbreaking technology to accelerate industrial decarbonization

“We are proud to lead the change towards a greener future. This achievement displays the effectiveness of our thermal energy storage technology and paves the way for a future where industrial process heat is sourced from clean, renewable electricity, enabling the industry to finally decarbonize,” says Camilla Nilsson, CEO of Kyoto Group.

Norbis Park is an industrial park (formerly known as Nordjyllandsværket power plant) and dedicated to developing innovative green energy solutions. It is owned by Aalborg Forsyning, a regional utility.

“We have had a really good and instructive collaboration with Kyoto Group, and this is a good example of what we want to do with our new test centre - to develop and demonstrate new, groundbreaking and green technologies in collaboration with companies, researchers and authorities,” says Søren Gais Kjeldsen, CEO of Aalborg Forsyning.

The Heatcube installed at Norbis Park has a storage capacity of 18 MWh and a discharge capacity of 4 MW. It serves as a heat storage system, absorbing power from the electrical grid, storing thermal energy in molten salt and delivering heat to the district heating system, making solar and wind a viable alternative to fossil fuels for district heating.

“This installation marks the first application of molten salt energy storage technology in a new market segment, despite its long-standing use in concentrated solar power facilities. This is a significant milestone, advancing the efforts to decarbonize heat through electrification. I would like to thank Nordjyllandsværket and Aalborg Forsyning for the extraordinary collaboration,” says Camilla Nilsson.

The inauguration will be attended by business partners, including Aalborg Forsyning, Aalborg CSP, Yara International, CyD, Vulcanic, Royal Institute of Technology, Rpow and Innovation Norge. Kyoto will be represented by the management group as well as Eivind Reiten, Chairman of the Board, and former energy minister of Norway as well as CEO of Norsk Hydro. Katja Nordgaard, Norway’s ambassador to Denmark, will also attend.