Latent heat storage systems, using phase change materials (PCMs), present the advantage of a high storage density at nearly constant temperature. They offer intrinsic advantages for heat storage in combination with steam as heat transfer fluid. Important applications of these storage systems are the areas of solar industrial process heat supply and heat recovery in industrial batch processes. The presented work aims to identify the most suitable PCMs, according to the studied temperature range (120-150 degrees C) and is based both on literature review and thermal analysis measurements. The thermal behaviour of eleven potential storage materials was studied by means of thermogravimetry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry analysis (DSC), coupled with a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS). The paper emphasizes the importance of the measurement conditions on the results. In particular the impacts of the type of crucible (open/closed), the atmosphere (N-2, N-2/O-2) and the cycling stability are presented. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.