How a Sand Battery Could Change the Energy Game

The world's first commercial sand battery went live in Finland this past July .

This is the latest development of thermal energy storage, or TES , which is the technology behind this new invention.

Heat storage is currently one of the most widespread TES solutions.

Sweden based utility Vattenfall will soon fill up a 45 meter or about 150 foot high tower with water.

Polar Night Energy uses 100 tons of low grade sand to store solar and wind energy in steel silo.

The silo can be built in any steel workshop and can store up to 8 MW hours of energy as heat.

A larger battery is already heating up local homes, offices and even a municipal swimming pool.

The Polonite Energy system relies on electric resistance heating which is 100% energy efficient, being able to work at temperatures as high as 600C.

While lithium ion batteries current sweet spot for cost and energy storage is around six hours , the sand battery device is suitable for seasonal storage.

However, there is a scalding potato cooking underneath the heat ridden sand.