The energy sector is currently under enormous transition, moving from fossil fuels to renewable energies and integrating energy efficiency measures. This transition can hold opportunities for new and innovative energy systems. This study presents an energetic and economic assessment of an innovative tri-generation unit working with a two-phase thermodynamic cycle. The tri-generation unit is driven by heat and is capable of providing heat at lower level, cold, and electricity to end users. The use cases—residential, day-use offices, commercial retail, and manufacturing industry—are integrated in a dynamic simulation model, indicating the operation mode of the unit. The results show that the tri-generation unit is able to provide heat and cold with an Energy Utilization Factor of 35% to 68%, depending on the use case. Solar thermal has a limited to potential to supply the unit with heat, due to the high temperature of 180 °C and the required unit operation at nighttime. The economic comparison indicates that the driving heat must be as low as possible and that savings through self-consumption is most relevant.

Currently, the European development and manufacturing of renewable and sustainable technologies are both critical and crucial. The EU-funded H2020 project REGEN-BY-2 demonstrates the manufacturing and testing of an innovative tri-generation technology that can simultaneously provide electricity, heat, and cold. The novel unit mainly operates using two-phase flow, demanding special requirements for individual components, mainly expanders and compressors. However, this technology has not been demonstrated; it is already relevant to identify later user types and investigate their future mechanisms in the heating and cooling demand. This analysis presents the four most important user types and various combinations of these, the joint use cases. The industrial, retail, office, and residential user types are first described in terms of their general characteristics, potential dependence on climate, and daily operation schedules. The results show that office and residential user types lack simultaneous demand for heating and cooling, as they are mainly influenced by seasonal weather conditions. Industrial and retail users, on the other hand, require both heating and cooling throughout the year with only daily variations. A system approach of the tri-generation unit coupled with thermal energy storage (TES) and additional auxiliary units, such as boilers and chillers, seems most promising for later applications. In addition, the availability of potential heat sources to drive tri-generation was verified. Industrial users are not only promising end-users, but also potential heat suppliers with a focus on untapped waste heat. This analysis follows a generalized approach. The next step would be to identify real use cases and examine the dimensioning and adaptation of the tri-generation unit in a complete system concept.