Sand Battery Transforms Energy Into Heat To Keep People Warm In The Winter

A common material often associated with summers is being stored to keep the people of Finland warm during the winter months.

Unused energy produced from renewables such as wind turbines and solar panels is stored, as it usually would be. However, Polar Night Energy uses sand as a conductor to turn the energy into heat and trap it there for later use.  

The sand battery is described by the Finnish company to be the first commercial sand-based thermal energy storage compartment in the world.

With the technology, heat can be stored from 932°F to 1,112°F for months on end. As detailed by the BBC, the resistive heating process inside the battery to keep the sand warm circulates the air within it before it is transferred through its heating system and pumped into homes, offices, schools, and other buildings.  

The silo is currently housed at the Vatajankoski power plant where it provides district heating in Finland. Currently, it takes waste heat from retrieved local data and generates it into heat. Heat should be between 167°F and 212°F before being distributed, and the Polar Night Energy station can make up for the difference if the temperature drops too low.  

Each battery can hold a nominal power rating of up to 100 MW and has 20 GWh of storage capacity. It also has a lifespan of up 10 years and emits minimal emissions, most of which come from the installation of the battery.  

Polar Night Energy says that its sand battery can be used anywhere from heating a building to entire cities. It tailors each of its systems to the particular need of the client and the silo can even be stored underground to conserve space on land.  

[via Engadget and Clean Technica, cover image via Polar Night Energy]