In a town in southern Finland, a gigantic silo stuffed with powdered rock keeps an unexpected promise: clean, cheap and stored heat for months. The world’s largest sand battery has been put into operation, which began as an idea of two friends in 2018 today It has become In a pioneer installation that seeks to solve one of the greatest challenges of renewable energies: its large -scale storage.
A sand battery. In a place where the sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow, the storage for renewable energies becomes prevailing. The thermal battery of Polar Night Energy, built next to the Urban Heating Plant of Pornainen and managed by Loviisan Lämpö, officially launched on June 11, According to Euronews. This battery has a thermal storage capacity of 100 MWh, with an efficiency that is around 85 and 90%.
Ten times bigger. The new cylindrical structure has a height of 13 meters high and 15 wide, filled with about 2000 metric tons of crushed steatite – a byproduct of the manufacture of Finnish chimneys. That powdered rock, stored in an isolated silo, becomes a gigantic thermal energy accumulator, capable of supplying the demand for heating of one week in winter or a month in summer, According to TechCrunch.
How can it be of sand? Although it may seem sophisticated, the principle is relatively simple. Electricity is used – preferably of solar or wind origin – to resistively heat the air, which in turn transfers heat to the sand into the silo. The sand, due to its high density and heat capacity, retains that heat for days or even months at temperatures up to 500 ° C. So, when needed, the system releases hot air, which heats water for the urban heating network.
In the case of Pornainen, he supplies thermal energy to public buildings, homes and even the municipal pool, such as has pointed out Euronews. All control and prediction of energy performance is managed by an advanced heat transfer model, which calculates optimal load and discharge in real time.
To reduce the use of splinters. With this new structure we want to reduce the use of splinters in urban heating by 60% and eliminate up to 160 tons of CO2 per year. In addition, it could be added that construction sand is not being used, but a stoatita recycled a local by -product. Polar Night Energy co -founder Markku Ylönen, has explained in Euronews that the material used must fulfill certain thermodynamic criteria, but it is not necessary to be sand as such. Any high density granular substance can work. This opens the door to circular economy models and avoids pressure on river ecosystems.
Connected to the electricity market. The battery is within the energy reserve service, and from the company they continue working on a pilot to convert the heat stored in electricity, which could further transform the energy flexibility of the system. In addition, he counts with an estimated storage cost much lower than that of lithium batteries, According to TechCrunch.
A new paradigm change. In times of climate crisis, perhaps the future of energy does not depend only on lithium, hydrogen or large solar parks, but also for forgotten materials such as sand. From the heart of Finland, a silent battery already heats houses, libraries and schools.
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