Sand Battery

About Sand Battery:

• The battery, made of sand collected from construction sites, can solve the problem of round-the-year energy supply, a known limitation of renewable energy sources that can be harnessed intermittently.
• Sand can be heated up to 600 degrees Celsius (°C), whereas water starts to boil at 100°C. It also has low heat conductivity, which reduces energy loss.
• The storage system has three main components: the sand silo, an electrical air heater and an air-to-water heat exchanger.
• For charging the sand silo, the air is heated to 600°C in the electric air heater.
• The hot air is then circulated inside the silo using a heat-exchange pipe and blowers to raise the temperature of the sand at the silo’s core to 600°C.
• When the storage enters the discharging stage, the blowers are used to pump air into the pipe inside the sand silo.
• Once the air reaches 200°C, it is transferred to the air-to-water heat exchanger, where it is used to boil water. It is then sent to the heating network.
• The storage system requires electricity at all times.
• It is needed to charge the battery, monitor the temperature during standby and run the blowers when the battery is used.
• 1,000 times more power is discharged as heat than is used as electricity.

Q1) What is Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy is energy derived from natural sources that are replenished at a higher rate than they are consumed. For example Sunlight and wind.

Source: Dirt cheap backup: Why Finland’s installation of the world’s 1st sand battery may be a game-changer

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