I've been hearing a lot about thermal energy storage as the path to decarbonizing a lot of the chemical industry. So this is an interesting review. I didn't realize things were this far along.
Decarbonizing with a box of hot bricks
https://cen.acs.org/business/Decarbonizing-box-hot-bricks/104/web/2026/02
In Pornainen, Finland, a 10 MW sand battery designed by Polar Night Energy has been installed — heating sand to ~600 °C to store excess renewable power, and feeding heat into the local district heating system. 
The result: ~70% fewer carbon emissions from heating in that network. 
Learn how this tech works: https://climatesolutions.news/news/largest-sand-battery-installed-in-finland
‘A very Finnish thing’: Big #SandBattery to store wind and solar energy using crushed soapstone
The battery will be able to store a week’s heat demand in winter - how does it work?
By Lottie Limb
Published on 10/03/2024
"A huge sand battery is set to slash the carbon emissions of a Finnish town.
"The industrial-scale storage unit in Pornainen, southern Finland, will be the world’s biggest sand battery when it comes online within a year.
"Capable of storing 100 MWh of thermal energy from solar and wind sources, it will enable residents to eliminate oil from their district heating network, helping to cut emissions by nearly 70 per cent.
" 'It's exciting to build a large-scale thermal energy storage, which will also act as a primary production plant in Pornainen's district heating network,' says Liisa Naskali, COO at Polar Night Energy, the company behind the innovation.
" 'This is a significant step in scaling up the sand battery technology.' "
✅ Dänemarks #HymeEnergy revolutioniert die Industrie mit thermischen #Batterien aus geschmolzenem Salz.
Ein neuer Deal mit #Arla, dem fünftgrößten #Molkereikonzern der Welt, sieht ein 200-MWh-#Speichersystem vor, das erneuerbare Energie in #Wärme für die #Milchpulverproduktion umwandelt – 100 % fossilfrei.
Hyme plant eine rasche Skalierung in Europa und hat bereits 25 Mio. € Kapital gesammelt.
#Energiewende #ThermalStorage #ErneuerbareEnergien #Wärmewende
The mother of invention LIVES at the margins
"Some communities in remote parts of #Alaska ... have served as #incubators for a wide range of really innovative technologies and strategies that are now gaining popularity in mainstream markets. Examples include #dynamic time-of-use #EnergyPricing, #DemandManagement, #SmartMetering technology, #HeatPumps, #ThermalStorage, and the strategic addition of new loads."
So awesome.
Using seaweed to create a new material that can effectively store heat for reuse https://innovationtoronto.com/2023/06/using-seaweed-to-create-a-new-material-that-can-effectively-store-heat-for-reuse/
The plan to make a giant hot water bottle underground
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65098792
What a great idea. So much better than the use of fossil fuels.
allan
andybrwn
Climate Solutions News
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Jonathan Wright