New TREASURE report highlights the value of Large Thermal Energy Storage beyond economics
What if the benefits of Large Thermal Energy Storage (LTES) extend beyond costs and payback calculations? A newly published TREASURE deliverable shows that they do.
Deliverable D6.3 – Evaluation of Non-Market Benefits, prepared by Energieinstitut at Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU), examines how resilience, security of supply and public acceptance influence the value of LTES for district heating customers and operators.
Measuring value beyond economics
Investment decisions for thermal energy storage are usually based on technical and economic indicators. However, LTES also offers benefits that are harder to quantify, such as improved resilience to energy market disruptions, greater energy security and better integration of renewable heat.
The report investigates whether these benefits create additional willingness to pay and strengthen the overall business case for LTES.
Insights from customers and operators
The deliverable combines a literature review and SWOT analysis with two surveys.
The first survey analysed 2,873 valid responses from participants in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Sweden. Using a discrete choice experiment, it examined how costs, CO₂ savings, resilience to international energy price spikes and storage visibility affect support for LTES.
Support remained high across the five countries. Cost was the strongest factor influencing approval, but respondents also valued CO₂ reductions and greater resilience. The results also revealed a high general level of support for LTES that could not be fully explained by the tested parameters.
The second survey gathered responses from 48 district heating operators. While respondents reported an average standard payback period of 15 years, they indicated that the additional benefits of LTES could justify extending it by around two years.
What does the report cover?
The deliverable includes:
the role of LTES and Pit Thermal Energy Storage in district heating;
non-market benefits, resilience and security of supply;
a SWOT analysis of LTES and PTES;
the methods and results of both surveys; and
conclusions for future project development and investment strategies.
The findings show that resilience, energy security and public acceptance are not simply additional advantages. They represent measurable value that can support investment decisions and the wider deployment of Large Thermal Energy Storage across Europe.
