Plaksha University and Tabreed India Partner to Revolutionize Campus Cooling with Thermal Energy Storage

Plaksha University has partnered with Tabreed India to create a living lab for testing energy storage technologies, particularly integrating thermal energy storage with solar power. Aiming to decarbonize residential cooling, the project will enhance energy efficiency and foster sustainability while reducing grid reliance.

India, 23 May 2024: Plaksha University, a technology university reimagining higher education and research in India, has announced a groundbreaking partnership with Tabreed India to develop a living laboratory to test various energy storage technologies and its integration with smart microgrid at the campus. Initially the partnership will test the integration of innovative phase change material (PCM)-based thermal energy storage with solar energy in a hostel building with the aim to decarbonise residential cooling energy consumption and minimise grid reliance. As part of this first-of-its-kind Cooling as a Service (CaaS) contract for a university campus in South Asia, Tabreed India will take charge of Plaksha's existing cooling systems to enhance energy efficiency and provide reliability commitments upwards of 98%. Besides research on thermal storage, Plaksha will experiment with consumption-based billing to foster behavioural change among users in the hostel. Sudheer Perla, Managing Director, Tabreed Asia, says: "We are excited to partner with Plaksha University for a project that combines technology and business model innovation. Through implementing our planned innovations, we hope to demonstrate the cost and sustainability benefits of replacing battery energy storage with thermal energy storage (TES) systems, and the scalability potential of TES systems in the energy transition efforts underway. We aim to pave the way for other large university campuses, industrial parks, and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to aspire for truly self-sufficient grid-independent campuses in the near future." The collaboration is part of the broader partnership between Tabreed India and IFC's award-winning TechEmerge Program, through Cooling Innovation Lab (CIL), that aims to accelerate market adoption of innovative cooling technologies through the implementation of grant-funded pilots and innovative business models. This setup will demonstrate how the dual problem of variability in renewable power generation, which accounted for 70% of new generation capacity in India in 2023, and incremental night-time cooling demand can be addressed to minimise the need for conventional, more expensive, and less environment-friendly battery storage systems, thus bringing a sustainable vision for grid-independent buildings, campuses or even townships one step closer. Vishal Garg, Professor and Director, Indorama Ventures Center for Clean Energy, Plaksha University says: "We are committed to leading the transition to sustainable energy through cutting-edge research and comprehensive educational programmes. A significant challenge in achieving our decarbonisation goals is the energy consumption in residential cooling. We believe that thermal storage, in combination with district cooling, holds great potential to overcome this challenge. To realise this potential, extensive research is necessary to develop innovative technologies, effective business models and supportive policies that also consider human-centric design and behavioural factors. Our collaboration with Tabreed India is a crucial step towards initiating this essential research".

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