Clean Energy Solutions · Project experience
Seasonal thermal storage and flue-gas waste-heat recovery for district heating
An under-construction project in Shanxi that shifts non-heating-season surplus heat into the winter heating period through a large borehole thermal store, hybrid electric-and-steam heat pumps and steam-driven flue-gas heat recovery.
- Project stage
- Under construction
- Design lead
- Shandong Junminghe Engineering Design Co., Ltd.
- Engineering scope
- Feasibility study · Preliminary design · Construction-drawing design
Project challenge
Move usable heat across seasons, not simply across a plant boundary.
The design had to address a seasonal mismatch between available surplus heat and winter heating demand, while fitting a large underground storage field below industrial buildings and roads. The heat-source station also had to coordinate borehole storage, two heat-pump pathways, steam-water heat exchange and the external district-heating network as one operating system.
Heat-source campus
One site brings storage, recovery and heating-network interfaces together.
The overall arrangement coordinates the heat-source station, auxiliary systems, circulation-water interfaces, access and surrounding industrial facilities as one buildable campus.
Engineering scope
From project feasibility to construction-ready design.
Feasibility study
Defined the heat-source concept, seasonal energy path and project-development basis.
Preliminary design
Established the integrated heat balance, equipment configuration, hydraulic interfaces and site arrangement.
Construction drawings
Developed the borehole field, piping, heat-source-station systems and discipline interfaces for construction.
Final design configuration
Two clear energy paths serve one district-heating network.
Seasonal underground thermal-storage path
Surplus heat is stored below ground outside the heating season, then recovered and upgraded by hybrid heat pumps for winter supply.
Operating logic summary
Charge · non-heating season
01Surplus plant heat→
02Ring-main and zoned borehole field→
03Seasonal underground storage
Recover · heating season
01Stored low-grade heat→
024 hybrid electric-and-steam heat pumps→
03District-heating water
Flue-gas waste-heat recovery path
Sensible and latent heat in cleaned boiler flue gas is recovered through the spray circuit and transferred to the heating network by steam-driven absorption heat pumps.
Operating logic summary
Continuous recovery · heating season
01Cleaned boiler flue gas→
02Spray-tower heat recovery→
032 absorption heat pumps→
04District-heating water
The hybrid heat-pump units combine electric compression and steam-driven absorption capability in one integrated configuration.
Design response
The engineering value sits in system integration.
Subsurface integration
The borehole field is coordinated with industrial buildings, roads, foundations and construction access.
Hydraulic zoning
A ring-main concept and zoned controls support balancing, isolation and maintainability across the large field.
Multi-source heat balance
Stored heat, flue-gas recovery and direct steam-water exchange are coordinated around district-heating duty.
Construction quality
The design defines pressure testing, grouting, flushing, monitoring and commissioning requirements for the buried network.
Feasibility study, preliminary design and construction-drawing design have been completed. The project is now under construction, with commissioning and operating information to follow at the corresponding stage.
Assess a seasonal thermal-storage opportunity
Share your heat-source profile, seasonal load, temperature levels, site constraints and existing heating-network data for an initial engineering review.