REVIEW article
Front. Energy Res.
Sec. Energy Storage
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2025.1651471
This article is part of the Research TopicThermal Energy Storage Technology and ApplicationsView all 3 articles
Comprehensive Review of Emerging Trends in Thermal Energy Storage Mechanisms, Materials and Applications
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
- 2University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Thermal energy storage (TES) technologies are emerging as key enablers of sustainable energy systems by providing flexibility and efficiency in managing thermal resources across diverse applications. This review comprehensively examines the latest advancements in TES mechanisms, materials, and structural designs, including sensible heat, latent heat, and thermochemical storage systems. Recent innovations in nano-enhanced phase change materials (PCMs), hybrid TES configurations, and intelligent system integration are highlighted. The role of advanced computational methods, such as digital twins and AI-based optimization, in enhancing TES performance is also explored. Applications in renewable energy systems, industrial processes, district heating networks, and green hydrogen production are discussed, along with associated challenges and future research directions. This review aims to synthesize current knowledge while identifying pathways for accelerating the development and practical deployment of nextgeneration TES technologies.
Keywords: Thermal Energy Storage, Phase change materials (PCM), Hybrid TES Systems, Nano-enhanced PCM, review, future
Received: 21 Jun 2025; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kwasi-Effah and Okpako. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Collins Chike Kwasi-Effah, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.