Innovations for a new era of energy storage | Transforming Business

Summary

The world's first sand battery, capable of storing renewable energy as heat, is being expanded in Finland to become the largest of its kind. Utilizing abundant, low-grade sand, the technology stores heat at 500–600 degrees Celsius for months, feeding into district heating networks. As renewable energy generation surges, thermal batteries like sand, clay bricks, and rocks offer sustainable, large-scale energy storage solutions, crucial for decarbonizing industries and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, marking a significant step towards a zero-carbon future.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The world's first sand battery is capable of storing renewable energy as heat, using 100 tons of sand.
• 🔥 Sand's large surface area due to its small particles makes it an excellent medium for heat storage, similar to how hot sand feels on a beach in summer.
• 📈 The sand battery stores electricity as heat at temperatures around 500–600 degrees Celsius and can retain it for weeks or months.
• 🏭 The largest sand battery is planned to be built in Pornainen, Finland, aiming to replace 60% of the district heating produced with wood chips.
• 🔌 Renewable energy is intermittent, and thermal batteries like sand batteries are essential for capturing excess energy and distributing it when needed.
• 📊 A study suggests that by 2040, heat battery storage solutions could supply up to 15 times more energy than today, addressing the issue of wasted renewable energy.
• 💡 Thermal batteries are considered more suitable for large energy storage compared to lithium-ion batteries due to their longevity, lower cost, and lack of reliance on rare minerals.
• 🧱 Rondo, a company that makes bricks from clay, functions as heat batteries for industrial use, capable of storing energy at higher temperatures than sand batteries.
• 🏥 Brenmiller's heat storage solution uses crushed rocks and is already in use, serving needs such as a hospital's energy requirements, with a lifespan of 30 years.
• ♻️ Thermal energy storage solutions could reduce a significant portion of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 2050, contributing to a healthier planet.
• 🔧 The deployment of thermal batteries is crucial for decarbonizing the industrial sector, which accounts for a large percentage of global energy consumption and emissions.

Q & A

What is a sand battery and how does it store energy?

A sand battery is a large-scale heat battery filled with tons of sand, which can store renewable energy as heat. It uses the sand's large surface area to retain heat effectively, storing it at temperatures around 500–600 degrees Celsius for weeks or months.

What is the significance of the sand battery in Pornainen, Southern Finland?

The sand battery in Pornainen is significant as it aims to become the world's largest, replacing about 60% of the district heating produced with wood chips. It will store renewable electricity as heat and feed it back into the district heating network when needed.

How does the first sand battery work in terms of heating a local swimming pool?

The first sand battery, located in Kankaanpää, Finland, is connected to a district heating network that also heats homes in the area. It can release the stored heat to warm a local 25-meter swimming pool.

What is the main challenge with renewable energy sources?

The main challenge with renewable energy sources is their intermittency. They produce a lot of electricity when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, but the challenge lies in capturing that energy when it's plentiful and channeling it to people when they need it.

Why are thermal batteries considered more suitable for large amounts of energy storage compared to lithium-ion batteries?

Thermal batteries are considered more suitable for large amounts of energy storage because they can last longer, are cheaper, and do not require rare minerals like lithium-ion batteries. They are also more environmentally friendly as they can be made from natural materials.

What is the role of Rondo's clay bricks in thermal energy storage?

Rondo's clay bricks function as heat batteries for industrial use. They store energy as heat to be used later, and unlike the sand battery, the technology used can also convert the heat back into electricity. The bricks can store energy at much higher temperatures, almost three times as high as the sand battery, at 1,500 degrees Celsius.

How do Brenmiller's stationary heat batteries made of crushed rocks contribute to energy storage?

Brenmiller's stationary heat batteries, filled with crushed rocks, are used to serve the needs of various facilities, such as hospitals. They have a lifespan of 30 years and are driven by harnessing green energy, making the process of making heat less reliant on fossil fuels.

What is the potential impact of thermal energy storage solutions on greenhouse gas emissions by 2050?

A report suggests that electric thermal energy storage solutions could reduce the equivalent of up to 14% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions globally by 2050.

How does the sand battery technology address the issue of sand as a finite resource and its environmental impact?

The team in Finland is exploring sand-like materials, such as crushed soapstone, a byproduct from a Finnish fireplace company, to be used as the storage medium in the new sand battery, addressing the issue of sand as a finite resource and its environmental impact.

What is the energy loss percentage of the sand battery and its limitations in industrial applications?

The sand battery loses about 30% of its energy and is not capable of returning electricity as electricity. It can only be applied to less than 40% of industrial needs due to its lower temperature range.

How do thermal batteries contribute to the decarbonization of the industrial sector?

Thermal batteries can help decarbonize the industrial sector by providing a renewable source of heat for processes that currently rely on fossil fuels. This is crucial as heat generation or heating and cooling account for over 50% of the world's energy consumption.

Outlines

00:00

🌡️ Innovative Sand Battery Technology

The script introduces the world's first sand battery, a renewable energy storage solution capable of storing heat using 100 tons of sand. Highlighting its potential, the narrator mentions plans for an even larger sand battery in Finland, aiming to replace a significant portion of district heating currently produced by wood chips. The sand's heat retention properties, similar to feeling hot sand on a beach, allow the battery to store energy at temperatures around 500–600 degrees Celsius for extended periods. The technology by Polar Night Energy uses electric resistors to heat air, which is then circulated through the sand for heat transfer and storage. This stored heat can later be used to supply energy to district heating networks and even heat local facilities like swimming pools. The segment underscores the importance of thermal batteries as a sustainable solution to the intermittency of renewable energy sources and their potential to store and supply energy more efficiently than current methods.

05:00

🔥 Advancing Thermal Energy Storage

This paragraph delves into the broader landscape of thermal energy storage, discussing the advantages of thermal batteries over lithium-ion batteries in terms of suitability for large energy storage, longevity, and cost-effectiveness. It introduces Rondo, a company that creates bricks from clay capable of storing energy as heat at temperatures up to 1,500 degrees Celsius, which is almost three times higher than that of sand batteries. These bricks can also convert stored heat back into electricity. The narrative emphasizes the environmental benefits of such technologies, suggesting that by 2030, thermal energy storage could reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly. It also touches on other materials like rocks used in stationary heat batteries by Brenmiller, which serve industrial needs and have a lifespan of 30 years. The script highlights the importance of decarbonizing industrial heat generation, which accounts for a substantial portion of global energy consumption and emissions.

10:04

🌍 Decarbonizing Industries with Thermal Batteries

The final paragraph focuses on the global impact of thermal batteries in decarbonizing heat generation, especially in industries where heat is a central driver. It discusses the significance of heat in energy consumption, which is higher than that of electricity and transportation combined. The script provides examples of how thermal batteries are being used in various applications, from warming swimming pools to industrial processes requiring high temperatures. It also addresses the limitations of current thermal battery technologies, such as energy loss and the environmental impact of sand extraction. However, it concludes on a hopeful note, with the development of new materials like crushed soapstone for sand batteries and the potential of rocks to serve as a sustainable, minimal environmental impact storage medium. The paragraph ends by emphasizing the collaborative benefits of thermal batteries for both sustainability and financial officers, suggesting a harmonious future for environmental and economic goals.

Keywords

💡Sand Battery

A sand battery is a type of thermal energy storage system that uses sand as the medium to store heat. In the context of the video, it is the world's first and is capable of storing renewable energy as heat, which can then be used when needed. The sand battery in Finland is highlighted as a significant project aiming to replace a portion of district heating produced with wood chips.

💡Renewable Energy

Renewable energy refers to energy that is collected from renewable resources, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are replenished naturally. The video discusses the importance of storing renewable energy, particularly when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing, to ensure a continuous supply of energy.

💡Thermal Energy Storage

Thermal energy storage involves the capture and storage of thermal energy for later use. The video explains how thermal batteries, including sand batteries, can store renewable electricity as heat and then release this heat when required, which is crucial for balancing the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources.

💡Intermittent Energy Sources

Intermittent energy sources are those that do not produce a constant flow of energy, such as solar and wind power, which depend on the presence of the sun or wind. The video emphasizes the challenge of storing energy from these sources and the role of thermal batteries in addressing this issue.

💡District Heating

District heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location to multiple buildings in a city or town. The video mentions that the sand battery in Finland will be used to replace a significant portion of district heating currently produced by burning wood chips.

💡Polar Night Energy

Polar Night Energy is the company behind the technology of the sand battery. The video describes how they use electric resistors to heat air, which is then circulated through the sand, transferring heat to the sand for storage. This company is an example of an organization innovating in the field of thermal energy storage.

💡Molten Salts

Molten salts are a medium used in some thermal energy storage systems, capable of storing high temperatures. The video refers to a solar power plant in Chile that uses molten salts to store thermal energy, which can then be converted back into electricity when needed.

💡Heliostat

A heliostat is a device that tracks the sun and reflects its rays towards a specific target. In the video, a solar field with 10,600 heliostats is mentioned, which captures solar power and uses it to heat molten salts for energy storage.

💡Decarbonization

Decarbonization refers to the process of reducing or eliminating the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from processes and industries. The video discusses how thermal batteries can help decarbonize heat generation, particularly in the industrial sector, which is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

💡Rondo Energy

Rondo Energy is a company that produces bricks made from clay functioning as heat batteries for industrial processes. The video explains that these bricks can store energy as heat and, unlike sand batteries, can also convert the heat back into electricity, highlighting an advancement in thermal energy storage technology.

💡Brenmiller

Brenmiller is a company that produces stationary heat batteries filled with crushed rocks. The video mentions that these batteries have a lifespan of 30 years and are used to serve the needs of various facilities, such as hospitals, illustrating the practical application of thermal energy storage in real-world settings.

Highlights

Introduction of the world's first sand battery capable of storing renewable energy as heat.

Plans to build the largest sand battery in the world in Pornainen, Southern Finland.

Sand battery's potential to replace 60% of district heating produced with wood chips.

Explanation of sand's properties that make it an effective medium for heat storage.

Demonstration of the first-ever sand battery in Kankaanpää, Finland.

Technical details on how the sand battery stores and releases heat.

The sand battery's connection to a district heating network and its use in heating a local swimming pool.

The importance of energy storage solutions for renewable energy's intermittency.

Comparison of thermal batteries to lithium-ion batteries in terms of suitability for large energy storage, longevity, and cost.

Introduction of Rondo's clay bricks as an alternative thermal storage system.

Rondo's bricks' ability to store energy at higher temperatures and convert heat back into electricity.

Environmental impact and carbon emission reduction potential of thermal energy storage solutions.

Brenmiller's stationary heat batteries made from crushed rocks and their application in industrial processes.

The significance of thermal energy storage in decarbonizing the industrial sector.

The role of thermal batteries in addressing the world's energy consumption and carbon emissions from heating and cooling.

Challenges and limitations of current thermal battery technologies, such as energy loss and material scarcity.

Innovative approaches to overcome material limitations, like using crushed soapstone as an alternative to sand.

The broader implications of thermal energy storage for a sustainable and cost-effective energy future.

Transcripts

The heat is on: This is the world’s first sand battery. 

It’s filled with 100 tons of sand. It can harness renewable energy,  

storing it as heat. And there are more in the pipeline. 

“We are going to build here the  largest sand battery in the world” 

The sand battery is just one of a handful  of large-scale heat batteries on the market. 

“If we want to use renewable energy when the  sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing,  

then we need to have it stored somehow” We’re looking at some simple earthy  

materials – harnessing energy as heat,  on this episode of Transforming Business.

The new kid on the block

This is the site of what will be  the world’s biggest sand battery.

It’ll be taller than its neighbor –  a woodchip burning plant, here in the  

small town of Pornainen in Southern Finland. We are trying to replace here about 60% of our  

district heating produced with the wood chips.  And the sand battery is able to do that.” 

That’s Mikko Paajanen, head of a Finnish district  

heating company that’s invested  in the sand battery technology.

It’s building the battery to store  renewable electricity as heat. 

When needed, the heat will then be fed back  into Pornainen’s district heating network. 

Two and a half hours drive away in the  

west of Finland, (Geotag Kankaanpää). is the first sand battery ever built.

It’s ten times smaller than the  one to be built in Pornainen.

It’s a 4-meter wide, 7 meters high steel  silo container, with a hundred tons of  

locally sourced sand inside. That’s  about the same weight as a blue whale. 

Sand is used here because  there’s lots of it in this area. 

Sand is made up of lots of small particles with  

a large surface area and because  of this can store heat very well. 

Think of being on a beach in summer and  how hot sand can feel underneath your feet.

The battery stores electricity in the  sand as heat at around 500–600-degree  

Celsius and can store it for  weeks or months at a time.

The sand used in this is low-grade  and not suitable for construction.

The company behind the  technology is Polar Night Energy.

“So we use electric resistors  to heat air which is circulated  

through the sand and then when the  air is hot and the sand is cold,  

the heat is transferred from the air to  the sand and then it’s stored there.”

When the heat is needed, it’s released.

This sand battery is connected to a district  heating network and heats homes in the area.

It even heats this local 25-meter swimming pool.

The fatal flaw of renewables

In a world driven by renewables, one study  suggests that by 2040, storage solutions,  

like heat batteries, will be able to store and  supply up to 15 times more energy than today.

Otherwise, with too much wind and solar power,  

this reported situation in California  might be repeated the world-over.

“There is so much solar energy  on the grid that electricity  

is sometimes being thrown out because of it.”

Renewables are intermittent. When the  sun is out or the wind is in full force,  

there’s lots of electricity being made.

The trick is to capture that energy  when it’s plentiful and not waste it.

And to channel that energy  to people when they need it.

World governments have agreed to triple  renewable energy generation capacity by 2030. 

And that’s why we need large  stationary storage solutions. 

Thermal batteries are said to be more suitable  for large amounts of energy compared to  

lithium-ion batteries and they last longer. They’re also cheaper. They don’t need rare  

minerals, like lithium-ion batteries do. The more established players 

So just to recap, in a thermal storage  system, renewable electricity can be  

used to heat up a material that’s  especially good at capturing heat,  

and surrounding it with insulation  to make a sort of giant thermos.

A number of companies are playing  with natural materials for this.

“So we make individual bricks  that are half a ton that store,  

each of them stores more energy that  the battery pack in a Tesla Model X.”

That’s John O’Donnell, head of Rondo,  

a company that makes bricks from clay that  function as heat batteries for industry.

Like the sand battery, the bricks store  energy as heat to be used later as heat. 

But unlike the sand battery, the  technology used for heating the  

bricks can also convert the  heat back into electricity.

The bricks can store energy at a much higher  temperature than the sand battery – almost 3  

times as high, at 1,500 degrees Celsius. “And because Rondo provides the hottest  

thermal storage that’s in commercial  operation today, only our technology  

can repower coal-fired power stations  at their original turbine efficiency.”

The brick is used for industrial  processes and Rondo says a single  

heat battery saves more carbon emissions  per year than 8,500 Tesla electric vehicles.

A report published earlier this year  said that electric thermal energy storage  

solutions could reduce the equivalent of up to  2% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions  

by 2030, and up to 14% globally by 2050. and it’s not just heat batteries made  

of sand and bricks, but rocks too. These large stationary heat batteries  

made by Brenmiller are filled with  crushed rocks and are already connected  

to serve the needs of a hospital. They have a lifespan of 30 years.

“I think rocks have a lot of potential  

because they’re natural, they’re abundant,  you have them as a byproduct quite often  

and they have some nice thermal storage  properties that make them attractive.”

Brenmiller is one of the older companies doing  

heat storage. They are driven  by harnessing green energy.

But their primary drive is to make the process  of making heat less reliant on fossil fuels,  

especially for the industrial sector. 

“Heat generation or heating and cooling is over  50% of the energy we consume in the world.” 

That’s Doron Brenmiller, chief  business officer of the company. 

“In the industrial sector, the numbers are even  higher. It goes up to 60 or 70 percent, sometimes,  

the emissions that are used  to generate steam or heat.”

This is a crucial point.

If thermal energy storage solutions  can help decarbonize industry,  

we’re more likely to have a healthier planet.

And we’ll go back to it later.

First to Chile (Geotag Atacama Desert)

This solar field covering 700 hectares has  10,600 heliostats, and a 252-meter-high tower.

This area has some of the highest  levels of solar radiation in the world.

The plant has over 17 hours of thermal storage  

capacity using molten salts. “And during all the hours of  

sunshine we store thermal energy, that is,  storing salt at 560 °C in a very large tank.”

The solar power is captured  through the heliostats, or mirrors. 

These reflect the sun’s rays to the  receiver located at the top of the tower. 

There the radiation is absorbed,  heating a stream of cold molten  

salts and converting the energy back  into electricity to be used when needed: 

“We are an electrical storage plant that, with  sunlight, can generate electricity 24 hours  

a day. This means that you can feed a city  like Calama, which is our neighbouring city,  

and we have enough capacity to feed  the city of Calama 24 hours a day”

Decarbonizing Heat

Thermal batteries are especially useful  as the planet weans off fossil fuels.

Remember how the renewable energy harnessed by the  sand battery warms the swimming pool in Finland?

But why is it important to talk about heat?

According to the International  Renewable Energy Agency, heating and  

cooling make up half of the world’s total  energy consumption – significantly more  

than electricity (20%) and transportation (30%).

This heat amounts to about 40% of  energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

In industry, heat is the central driver. 

For example, in pasteurizing food to preserve  it, produce like milk is treated with mild heat,  

usually less than 100 degrees Celsius to  eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life.

At the higher end, steelmaking, for instance,  requires heat at 1, 600 degrees Celsius. 

Fossil fuels currently drive most of this. But thermal batteries are  

already stepping in instead. John O’Donnell CEO Rondo Energy 

“And the faster we can deploy wind  and solar and put it to this purpose,  

we can build a future that is lower cost, that is  not volatile in price, and that is zero carbon.” 

There is a caveat, however, to  thermal batteries as we now know them.

Let’s look at the sand battery first –  this one loses about 30% of its energy  

and is not capable of returning electricity as  electricity. But as heat, as we’ve discussed. 

And the sand battery can only  be applied to less than 40% of  

industrial needs because of  its lower temperature range.

It’s also worth remembering that sand,  though plentiful in this region of Finland,  

is a finite resource and ungoverned  sand extraction is driving erosion,  

flooding and the collapse of coastal defenses. 

Which is why the team in Finland  are exploring sand-like materials.

For the new sand battery; crushed  soapstone – a byproduct from a  

Finnish fireplace company – will  be used as the storage medium. 

With the bricks, though they can convert  the stored renewable energy into both heat  

and electricity, there is a carbon  cost associated with making them. 

But the company says that its heat battery  cancels out the emissions generated in  

making it in its first month of use. Because of the heat of the bricks,  

Rondo say they can be used instead of  fossil fuels in 90% of industrial processes. 

The use of molten salts, meanwhile, to be used  for storage, need a lot of energy to be kept hot.

Think back to the plant in Chile  – one of the places on the planet  

with the highest levels of solar radiation. Rocks, on the other hand, while they’re not  

capable of storing heat as high as the bricks,  

and therefore not as impactful in tackling  industrial heat, they are plentiful:

So in many ways, these rocks are,  are more or less free and have very,  

I would say minimal environmental impact.

Whether it’s sand, bricks, rocks or salt,  

thermal energy batteries mark another step  forward in the move away from fossil fuels.

“We are entering an era when  the sustainability officer  

and the financial officer can love each other.”

What do you think of thermal batteries?

Let us know in the comments below.

And if you liked this episode, please  check out the Transforming Business  

playlist for videos on topics just like this one.