Project Image Pool
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Terms of use: The pictures on this site originate from the projects in the frame of the programmes City of Tomorrow, Building of Tomorrow and the IEA Research Cooperation. They may be used credited for non-commercial purposes under the Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC).
Thermal Solar Plants: Life Cycle and Planning
Stages in the solar thermal plant life cycle (top), flow chart for the decision about implementation of solar district heating (bottom)
Copyright: © IEA SHC Task 68 – Subtask C
The large-scale thermal solar plant of Silkeborg, Dk
Overview over the large-scale solar thermal plant in Silkeborg, Denmark (left) and schematic showing the different sections and piping of the installation (right)
Copyright: © Silkeborg Forsyning AB
Examples for modern solar thermal collectors
Ground mounted evacuated tube collectors in Büsingen, Germany; combination of flat plate collectors and parabolic trough collectors in Taars, Denmark; roof integrated solar thermal collectors on “solar@home” building in Crailsheim, Germany; demo system of Sun Oyster on a flat roof in Zhangjiakou, China
Copyright: © Solites, Aalborg CSP und sunoyster.com
Solare District Heating: Structure, Heat and Revenue Streams
General structure of solar district heating (top) as well as important heat and revenue streams (bottom): The figure shows solar collectors, heat exchangers, a buffer storage, pumps, valves, the grid and consumers.
Copyright: © Dr. Viktor Unterberger / BEST GmbH
Structure of IEA SHC Task 68
Logo board of the countries and institutions (universities, research centres and companies) that participate in IEA SHC Task 68. The Task Management (TM) and the Subtask leads (A to D) are highlighted. Below, the key topics of IEA SHC Task 68 are shown: Higher efficiency (Subtask A), digital solutions (Subtask B), lowering costs (Subtask C) and dissemination / communication (Subtask D)
Copyright: © das IEA SHC Task 68 Konsortium
The 4 large thermal energy storage technologies of IEA ES Task 39
Schematic presentation of the 4 large thermal energy storage technologies that are included in the IEA ES Task 39: Tank thermal energy storage (TTES), pit thermal energy storage (PTES), borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) and aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES).
Copyright: Solites
The phases of a large thermal energy storage development
The 4 phases in the development process of a large thermal energy storage, with the main actors or stakeholders and the corresponding tools developed in IEA ES Task 39
Copyright: Planenergi
IEA ES Task 39 experts at the Meldorf PTES under construction
The IEA ES Task 39 expert group in from of the pit thermal energy storage of Meldorf (DE) under construction.
Copyright: IEA ES Task39
Overview of the current BIPV network in Austria
The figure shows the links between stakeholders within the BIPV sector, highlighting their relationships with different groups. These links, particularly with smaller actors, represent group affiliations, as indicated by the colour-coded links. Five main groups are identified within this network: Module and system manufacturers, platforms, universities, research institutes and the policy and regulation sector. This last group also includes designers, subdivided into building physicists and architects. Notably, façade and roof specialists within BIPV are categorised under module and system manufacturers. It is important to note that some roofing companies, such as Prefa and Wienerberger, use photovoltaic modules from European PV manufacturers and integrate them into their building products. Kioto Photovoltaics, for example, is a common outsourcing partner in this context. Other companies' such as Sunplugged, Wienerberger and Bramac also play an important role in this ecosystem. While some have started to produce BIPV modules, others focus on research or are in the development phase of their product offering. Eternit also refers to the integration of photovoltaics into building products by Eternit, a company specialising in fibre cement products. Eternit offers BIPV solutions where PV technology is integrated into its building products to provide both aesthetic and functional benefits.
Copyright: Momir Tabakovic
Stakeholders contributing and benefiting from the innovations in the ISGAN Casebook
The chart compares the stakeholders who contributed to the case studies in the ISGAN Casebook on planning smart distribution grids with those who benefited from them.
Copyright: Susanne Windischberger
Benefits, revenues, and cost analysis
Benefit, revenue, and cost analysis to evaluate the economic performance
Copyright: Andreas Hauer
Economic evaluation tool
Economic assessment tool for determining acceptable storage costs
Copyright: Christoph Rathgeber
National Task 41 team
Kick-off meeting for Task 41 at the Energieinstitut an der JKU Linz
Copyright: Task 41 Konsortium
National workshop on the economic feasibility of energy storage
Stakeholder workshop on the economic feasibility of energy storage. Presentations and discussion on thermal, electrical, and chemical storage technologies and their potential applications.
Copyright: Stefan Puschnigg
Value creation and business model framework
Development of business cases based on a 12-step approach
Copyright: TNO
Kick Off Meeting des IEA ES Task 48 am KTH in Stockholm Oct. 13th 2025
We successfully kicked off Task 48 at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm - together with our colleagues from Task 47: Components for Thermal Energy Storage. We are inspired by the energy and expertise everyone brought to the table. Our discussions set a strong foundation for collaboration on advancing thermal energy storage (TES) materials — including phase change materials (PCM), thermochemical materials (TCM), and high-temperature sensible storage. Over the coming months, we’ll work together to develop measurement guidelines for TES materials, compile an overview of innovative TES materials and build a shared, high-quality TES materials database. A big thank you to Saman Nimali Gunasekara and colleagues for hosting and to all participants for their inspiring contributions!
Copyright: Saman Nimali Gunasekara / KTH
Main pillars to form a successful capacity mechanism
The figure illustrates the key design principles of an effective Capacity Mechanism (CM), structured around four main dimensions: Incentives, Efficiency, Neutrality, and Missing Money. The Incentives pillar highlights the importance of creating appropriate signals for both producers and consumers, including investment security, stable revenue mechanisms, demand-side flexibility, and ensuring availability during scarcity situations. The Efficiency dimension emphasizes the need to control overall system costs while avoiding market distortions through well-designed market mechanisms and competitive structures. Under Neutrality, the figure stresses the importance of a technology- and climate-neutral approach that maintains a level playing field while enabling the participation of low-emission technologies. Finally, the Missing Money pillar addresses the issue of insufficient market revenues by introducing additional income streams and risk-mitigation mechanisms to ensure the financial viability of energy producers and long-term security of supply.
Copyright: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
Classification of Flexibility Mechanisms
The table provides an overview and classification of different flexibility mechanisms used in electricity systems, based on key distinguishing characteristics such as pricing structure, activation triggers, participation mode, quantity determination, and spatial scope. It illustrates how diverse approaches—ranging from local flexibility markets and demand response programs to peer-to-peer trading, energy communities, flexible connection agreements, and variable grid tariffs—can be systematically compared. Each mechanism is categorized according to whether participants can actively set prices (price input option) or are subject to predefined tariffs (price given), and whether flexibility is activated explicitly through defined products or implicitly via incentive-based signals. Furthermore, the table differentiates between voluntary and involuntary participation, as well as whether the amount of flexibility can be freely chosen or is predetermined by the system design. Finally, it distinguishes between local and national implementations, reflecting the extent to which mechanisms address geographically specific grid constraints or broader system-level needs. Overall, the table highlights the wide spectrum of flexibility provision concepts and underscores the increasing importance of both market-based and regulatory instruments in enabling grid stability, integrating distributed energy resources, and supporting the transition toward more adaptive and decentralized energy systems.
Copyright: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
Key drivers for Grid Investment
The graphic illustrates the four key drivers for grid flexibility and reinforcement: technological developments, particularly injection peaks from PV generation and electric vehicles; policy targets for renewable energy and EV adoption, which strongly influence investment decisions; regional challenges, as grid violations occur differently depending on location, grid design, and the distribution of generation and demand; and grid utilization, which allows for higher median loading of cables and transformers. Together, these factors determine where, when, and to what extent flexibility and grid reinforcement are needed.
Copyright: AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
Measures to avoid voltage problems
One of the key challenges in managing decentralized energy systems is preventing network violations. Network violations arise not only from exceeding the thermal limits of cables and transformers, a challenge typically managed through conventional congestion management, but also significantly from overvoltage or undervoltage, particularly in low-voltage (LV) networks. Possible measures to avoid these violations are shown in this figure.