Comprehensive Thermophysical Profiling and Mapping of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Materials

Thermal energy storage (TES) plays a critical role in balancing energy generation and demand, serving as a cornerstone for the global renewable energy transition and industrial environmental sustainability. This review presents the development of visual and spatial multi-dimensional selection frameworks of TES materials. The novelty of the study lies in its system-agnostic, multi-faceted categorization of TES material performances independent of specific engineering configurations. The broad work reviewed just under 300 peer-reviewed sources, which were synthesized via a PRISMA-guided literature screening method to select and map TES materials by their thermal characteristics and limitations. Although mature and cost-effective sensible materials dominate industrial applications, they suffer from low storage density. Conversely, high-density thermochemical materials offer exceptional long-term storage potential but remain largely constrained to laboratory scales. The study highlights that while considerable research focus centres on enhancing PCM thermal performance through techniques like nano-encapsulation, composite creation, and the addition of nanoparticles, a critical research gap remains in the development of novel, optimised sensible heat storage media. Emerging trends indicate a rapid escalation in nanostructure applications and a gradual scale-up of thermochemical materials. Furthermore, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used to model material degradation. Ultimately, this mapping provides a structured framework for material selection, fostering multi-sector collaboration to accelerate affordable TES innovations.