Microencapsulated Salt Hydrate Based Filaments for FDM 3D Printing (STTR)

Lead Performer: TCPoly – Atlanta, GA
Partner: NREL – Golden, CO
DOE Total Funding: $199,987
Project Term: August 28, 2020 – June 28, 2021
Funding Type: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Project

Project Objective

TCPoly and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will develop low-cost thermal energy storage phase change material (PCM) composites that can be 3D printed using low-cost commercially available 3D printing platforms. Salt-hydrate-based PCMs are of interest due to their high energy density and comparatively low cost. The project will develop two approaches for the microencapsulation of salt-hydrate PCMs using TCPoly’s 3D printing polymers, which have achieved record-breaking thermal conductivity. The encapsulation approaches will result in PCM composite 3D printing filaments that overcome salt hydrate challenges, such as phase segregation and subcooling, and can be printed using off-the-shelf commercially available printers. This project will demonstrate low-volume manufacturing of the 3D printing PCM filaments, as well as printability, using a low-cost commercially available fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer. The combination of high conductivity polymer encapsulated salt hydrates and filament extrusion enables FDM 3D printing of complex TES geometries such as PCM heat exchangers for HVAC integration.

Project Impact

This project will demonstrate the combined concept, allowing for the realization of the first commercially available high-performance thermal energy storage (TES) material that can be manufactured at scale through the simple and relatively low-cost FDM 3D printing method.

Contacts

DOE Technology Manager: Sven Mumme
Lead Performer: Wale Odukomaiya, NREL