Multi-Variant Economic Feasibility Analysis of Heat Transport Using a Mobile Thermal Energy Storage Unit with a Capacity of 2 MWh

The energy transition entails numerous challenges related to the generation and distribution of various forms of energy and heat. In the case of electricity, these include, among others, challenges associated with transmission; however, these are usually less severe than those related to heat transmission, particularly due to limited access to district heating transmission networks. At the same time, heat storage is considerably less expensive than electricity storage, which means that heat management and balancing are also less costly than balancing electricity generation and demand. These two factors provided the rationale for selecting mobile heat transport from locations where surplus heat is generated to potential end-users as the subject of analysis. In this context, analytical methods were applied to determine the relationship between the economic efficiency of such a solution and selected technical and economic parameters, including CAPEX, OPEX, heat transport costs, and heat prices. The analysis demonstrated that, under current price conditions as of 2025, the economic efficiency of this solution, expressed using the net present value measure, may exceed zero only under specific conditions. These include relatively short transport distances, a high frequency of transport cycles, and favourable heat prices. Nevertheless, in the future, due to potential increases in heat prices or the possibility of subsidising this type of heat transport, particularly with respect to CAPEX, the solution may become economically attractive.