World's first 'sand battery' can store heat at 500C for months at a time. Could it work in Australia?

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 12:24:52 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-07-19/sand-battery-debuts-in-finland-world-first-heat-thermal-storage/101235514>

"The idea of storing heat in sand to warm homes through winter may, on the face
of it, seem too simple to work.

Drop a load of cheap builder's sand in an insulated silo, heat the sand with
renewable electricity, and then tap the stored thermal energy for months on
end.

In an age of green hydrogen, lithium-ion batteries and other high-tech energy
solutions, it can't work, right?

Finland begs to differ. This month saw the Nordic nation launch the world's
first commercial "sand battery".

About 230 kilometres north-west of Helsinki, in the town of Kankaanpää, homes,
offices and the public swimming pool are being heated by thermal energy stored
in a 7-metre steel container filled with 100 tonnes of sand.

So how does it work, what else can it be used for, and should we build them in
Australia?"

Share and enjoy,
               *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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