International Energy Agency: Energy Conservation through Energy Storage Implementing Agreement (ECES IA)

The R&D programme Efficient Energy End-Use Technologies contains 14 different Implementing Agreements (IAs) of which one is the IA on energy storage (See - IA Text - 135 kB ).

The full name of this IA is Energy Conservation though Energy Storage (ECES IA). Active participants in ECES IA include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden, UK, USA and Turkey. Two sponsors are participa-ting in the ECES at the moment: IF Technology b.v. from the Netherlands and the Institute of Heat Engineering (ITC) of the University of Technology of Warsaw from Poland. Other countries have signed the agreement but are not presently engaged in the activities. Further countries have recently shown interest in participating in the near future, including countries from Eastern Europe.

The ECES strategy is summarized in the - ECES Strategy Plan - 76 kB .

Organisation of ECES IA

The work within the ECES IA is lead by an Executive Committee (XC) and the work undertaken by this XC is done by mutual agreements defined in Annexes. At present the ECES IA contains 15 different Annexes of which fourteen, Annex 1-14 and Annex 17 , have been terminated. Today there are four active annexes and two planned annexes:

  • Annex 18 Transportation of Thermal Energy Utilizing Thermal Energy Storage Technology
  • Annex 19 Optimised Industrial Process Heat and Power Generation with Thermal Energy Storage
  • Annex 20 Sustainable Cooling with Thermal Energy Storage
  • Annex 21 Thermal Response Test for Underground Thermal Energy Storages
  • Annex 22 Thermal Energy Storage for greenhouses (planned)
  • Annex 23 Applying Energy Storage in Ultra-low Energy Buildings (planned)
  • Annex 24 Material Development for Improved Thermal Energy Storage Systems (planned)


The work is led by the Chairman Kirsti Midtomme (Norway); Vice-Chairman Tadahiko Ibamoto (Japan) ; and Secretary Andreas Hauer (Germany). There are sixteen contracting parties in the ECES IA. There are five IEA R&D Working Parties under which a number of IAs are performed.