Polar Night Energy , a Finnish company, is leading the way in demonstrating that large power storage solutions need not be made using lithium. Instead, the company has turned to a widely available resource: sand. In 2022, the company revealed theAs the world scales up renewable sources of energy in a bid to reduce its carbon emissions, storage of generated energy has been a new problem.
More importantly, a battery is built in such a manner that it can store energy for many months at a time, providing an option for long-term storage. To demonstrate their technology, PNE set up a small sand battery in western Finland using 100 tonnes of sand which is used in construction. The stored heat energy can be used to heat water and pump it to offices and homes during winter. The energy conversion ratio is rather poor when it comes to converting heat into electricity. However, it could still be useful as a source of industrial heating, which is a major contributor to emissions.Unlike innovations that take a few years to mature and reach the markets, the sand battery is a technology that is available right away.