Thermal Energy Storage with Phase Change Materials

Thermal energy storage with phase change materials exploits the latent heat absorbed or released during phase transitions—most commonly solid–liquid—to buffer fluctuations in energy supply and demand. By selecting materials with transition temperatures matched to specific applications, systems can store excess thermal energy when heat or sun is abundant and release it when needed. PCMs typically offer high energy density, near-isothermal operation and compact form factors. They are encapsulated or embedded within matrices to prevent leakage, enhance conductivity and improve cycling stability. Applications range from solar-thermal power plants and building climate control to industrial waste-heat recovery. Recent advances focus on enhancing thermal conductivity, engineering multifunctional composites and integrating intelligent control of phase transitions to boost efficiency and life-time performance. The versatility of PCMs underpins their global significance in decarbonising energy systems and enabling demand-side flexibility in heating and cooling.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have introduced photochemical control of phase transitions to extend energy retention and improve discharge timing. In one approach, light-responsive dopants were combined with organic PCMs to create an activation barrier that prevents premature crystallisation, enabling stored heat to be held for extended periods and triggered optically on demand. Another investigation demonstrated magnetically enhanced optical charging, in which dispersed absorbers within a PCM are dynamically re-distributed under a magnetic field. This strategy achieves rapid solar-thermal charging rates without compromising latent heat capacity, tripling stored energy compared with conventional thermal-diffusion methods.

Thermal Energy Storage with Phase Change Materials publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in thermal energy storage with phase change materials across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Phase change material: A substance that stores or releases latent heat at a nearly constant temperature during a phase transition, typically between solid and liquid states.

Latent heat: The thermal energy absorbed or released by a material during a phase change without a change in temperature.

Thermal conductivity: A measure of a material’s ability to conduct heat, influencing charging and discharging rates in storage systems.

Encapsulation: A technique to contain PCMs within shells or matrices to prevent leakage and improve mechanical and thermal stability.

Photothermal conversion: The process by which light energy is absorbed and converted into thermal energy within a material.

References

1. Leakage Proof, Flame-Retardant, and Electromagnetic Shield Wood Morphology Genetic Composite Phase Change Materials for Solar Thermal Energy Harvesting. Nano-Micro Letters (2024).
2. Polypyrrole‐boosted photothermal energy storage in MOF‐based phase change materials. Interdisciplinary Materials (2023).
3. A Comprehensive Review of Thermal Energy Storage. Sustainability (2018).
4. Carbon‐Based Composite Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage, Transfer, and Conversion. Advanced Science (2021).
5. Optically-controlled long-term storage and release of thermal energy in phase-change materials. Nature Communications (2017).
6. Dynamic tuning of optical absorbers for accelerated solar-thermal energy storage. Nature Communications (2017).