Thermal energy storage systems are an obvious technical option for shifting seasonal loads and reducing the demand for electricity in winter. However, their construction and operation raises numerous regulatory issues relating to various areas of law. This project clarifies the availability of land under civil and public law as well as environmental and procurement law requirements for the construction of thermal storage facilities. In addition, the competition law requirements for the operation of storage facilities in the context of thermal grids and with regard to sector coupling are clarified.

These regulatory studies are given a practical orientation by being based on empirical analyses of the technical and business fundamentals on the one hand and by presenting the results not only scientifically but also in a generally understandable and practice-oriented manner on the other. The resulting synthesis of the law on thermal storage provides additional legal certainty and also produces proposals for regulatory adjustments.