With people being more and more aware of global warming and what impact it already has on our planet, we can observe intensified search for efficient green sources of energy. In fact, we had many interesting solutions for years now, but there is a reason why they are still not the main suppliers of electricity all over the globe. Being dependent on weather conditions is a disadvantage of some of the most popular ones, for example, wind farms and solar panels. In that case in order to be prepared for those cloudy days we need to store somewhere generated energy. The problem is that the basic lithium-ion batteries are degrading and the process of their creation is not really “eco” so we pretty much miss the whole point.
That’s where the sand battery comes in – an innovation introduced by finish company Polar Night Energy. It started to gain popularity and interest around the world thanks to articles published by BBC writers Matt McGrath (July 2022) and Erika Benke (November 2022). With the ongoing war in Ukraine and the recently finished COP27 optimism surrounding this new solution shouldn’t be a surprise for us. But is it really a game changer and does it solve all the problems we are facing now with lithium-ion batteries?
First, let’s understand how a sand battery works. It is nothing more than a silo filled with pipes and hundreds of tons of sand. Thanks to TES (Thermal Energy Storage) technology and amazing physical attributes of sand that with proper isolation can maintain a temperature of 600 degrees Celsius for months, this innovation can store heat produced by electricity from solar panels and wind farms. It can be used to warm up the water during shortages of electricity due to for example weather conditions. It is pretty obvious that this solution is very cheap, eco-friendly, and easy to apply in any part of the world. In fact, it is already being used in the Vatajankoski power plant, where one sand battery provides heat for about 100 homes and a public swimming pool.
There is one issue though that can make us question this innovation. In fact, the term “battery” is misleading because sand batteries cannot store electricity. Transformation of heat energy back to electricity comes with huge losses and is just not cost-effective. Of course, this solution is still very promising and needed especially in countries placed in the northern part of the globe. Nevertheless, until Polar Night Energy finds a way to convert heat to electricity with much more efficiency, it is tough to call their innovation a game changer because it just does not solve one of the main problems. But who knows, maybe it is just a matter of time.
Sand battery is an eco-friendly and budget-friendly technology that should interest facilities and cities around the world which want to become greener and at the same time save money on heating. Though it does not revolutionize the energy industry, it is very encouraging to see that we keep on finding new ways to prevent global pollution. In front of Polar Night Energy now stands a very challenging task of scaling up and It is gonna be very interesting to follow their further development.
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Nice one Gustaw , I think this battery is a great eco-friendy sollution and that’s what we really need these days 🙂
It really gives me Dune vibes. But it’s a great idea. It is really nice seeing this kind of eco-friendly ideas. Hopefully, the project will evolve in the future and we will hear about it more.
A creative solution to a substantial problem!