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Ba e ies

Sa d Ba e y T ials Begi I Fi la d

Pola Nigh E e gy i Fi la d is ou i g i s ew sa d ba e y ech ology while NREL is es i g a simila co cep .

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The sa d ba e y is he idea of wo Fi ish e gi ee s, Ma kku Ylö e a d Tommi E o e . I is simplici y i self. Make a eally big pile of sa d. Hea i wi h excess e ewable elec ici y o a ou d 500º C (932º F), he use ha hea la e o hea homes, fac o ies, eve swimmi g pools. They say he sa d ca s ay ho fo 3 mo hs o mo e. Toge he hey fou ded Pola Nigh E e gy, which has comple ed i s fi s i s alla io — ۱۰۰ o s of sa d i side wha looks ve y much like a silo — i he ow of Ka kaa pää.

Ame ica s may have a ha d ime seei g he value i his idea. The ho sa d is o ve y good a ge e a i g elec ici y, so wha ’s he poi ? Bu do ’ le Ame ica Excep io alism cloud you judgme . The e a e lo s of places i he wo ld — pa icula ly i cold clima es — whe e dis ic hea i g is commo . I s ead of i dividual fu aces i each buildi g, hea is ge e a ed i a ce al loca io a d dis ibu ed o homes, fac o ies, a d busi esses via a sys em of u de g ou d pipes a d duc s. The fi s Pola Nigh E e gy sys em has bee i s alled a he Va aja koski powe pla , which u s he dis ic hea i g sys em fo he a ea.

The sa d ba e y is p ima ily i e ded o suppleme hose dis ic hea i g sys ems a d sig ifica ly lowe he amou of elec ici y, oil, o me ha e used o hea buildi gs. Pa icula ly ow, while he madma i he K emli is busy playi g “mi e’s bigge ha you s” o he i e a io al s age, a y hi g ha educes he eed fo me ha e a d elec ici y sou ced f om Russia is welcome ews i deed. Moscow hal ed gas a d elec ici y supplies o Fi la d af e he cou y decided o joi NATO.

Acco di g o he BBC, he sa d ba e y ep ese s a simple, cos effec ive way of s o i g e e gy. I uses excess elec ici y f om e ewable e e gy sou ces o hea he sa d, which ca s ay a a ou d 500º C fo mo hs. “We have al eady lea ha ou sys em has eve mo e po e ial ha we i i ially calcula ed. I ’s bee a posi ive su p ise,” says Ylö e . “Whe eve he e’s a high su ge of available g ee elec ici y, we wa o be able o ge i i o he s o age eally quickly.”

The fi s i s alla io has 100 kW of hea i g powe a d 8 MWh of e e gy capaci y. “This i ova io is a pa of he sma a d g ee e e gy a si io . Hea s o age ca sig ifica ly help o i c ease i e mi e e ewables i he elec ical g id. A he same ime we ca p ime he was e hea o usable level o hea a ci y. This is a logical s ep owa ds combus io -f ee hea p oduc io ,” he adds.

Va aja koski uses hea ecove ed f om local da a se ve s as pa of i s dis ic hea i g sys em. Ideally, ha was e hea should be be wee 75 a d 100 deg ees C befo e i is fed i o he dis ic hea i g sys em. Whe he empe a u e ge s oo low, hea f om he Pola Nigh facili y ca make up he diffe e ce. The dis ic hea i g sys em also keeps he wa e i he ow ’s swimmi g pool wa m all du i g he lo g A c ic wi e . I e ms of emissio s, Pola Nigh says, o he ha he embedded emissio s f om co s uc i g he sa d ba e y, he sys em has he same ca bo i e si y as he e e gy sou ce ha p ovides he elec ici y o hea he sa d i i ially.

The idea fo he sa d ba e y was fi s developed a a fo me pulp mill i he ci y of Tampe e, wi h he cou cil do a i g he wo k space a d p ovidi g fu di g o ge i off he g ou d. “If we have some powe s a io s ha a e jus wo ki g fo a few hou s i he wi e ime, whe i ’s he coldes , i ’s goi g o be ex emely expe sive,” said Eli a Seppä e , a e e gy a d clima e specialis fo he ci y.”Bu we have if we have his so of solu io ha p ovides flexibili y fo he use, a d s o age of hea , ha would help a lo i e ms of expe se.”

O he esea ch g oups, such as he Na io al Re ewable E e gy Labo a o y, a e ac ively looki g a sa d as a viable fo m of ba e y fo g ee powe . Bu he Fi s a e he fi s wi h a wo ki g, comme cial sys em. “I ’s eally simple, bu we liked he idea of yi g some hi g ew, o be he fi s i he wo ld o do some hi g like his,” said Pekka Passi, he ma agi g di ec o of he Va aja koski powe pla .

Sa d Ba e ies Fo Eve y Need

Pola Nigh E e gy says i ca desig a sa d ba e y fo eve y eed, f om a si gle buildi g o a e i e ow . Each sys em is i dividually ailo ed o he equi eme s of he cus ome a d a e desig ed based o simula io s usi g COMSOL Mul iphysics sof wa e, 3-D a sie hea a spo models, a d wi h eal life i pu a d ou pu da a. The sys ems ca be bu ied below g ou d o p ese ve space if he su face a ea of p ojec is limi ed.

Each sys em is fully au oma ed a d has a omi al powe a i g of up o 100 MW a d a s o age capaci y of up o 20 GWH. The p ojec ed cos of a sys em is less ha 10 eu os pe kWh of s o age capaci y. The compa y says, “P oduc io of e ewable e e gy sou ces such as wi d a d sola powe is highly vola ile a d o ly pa ly ove lappi g wi h he co sump io i ime. As hese vola ile elec ici y sou ces i c ease apidly i socie ies, mo e a d mo e e e gy s o age ech ologies will be eeded. Ou ech ology p ovides a way o efi e cheap a d clea su plus elec ici y o valuable hea i a affo dable way o be used whe mos eeded.”

NREL Silica Sa d Ba e y

Image c edi : Pa ick Dave po a d Al Hicks, NREL

The NREL sys em diffe s f om he Pola Nigh sys em i ha is focuses mo e o usi g he s o ed hea o ge e a e elec ici y. I is well alo g i es i g a ew he mal e e gy s o age ech ology ha uses i expe sive silica sa d as a s o age medium. I says i s Eco omic Lo g Du a io Elec ici y S o age by Usi g Low Cos The mal E e gy S o age a d High Efficie cy Powe Cycle (ENDURING) is a eliable, cos -effec ive, a d scalable solu io ha ca be si ed a ywhe e.

ENDURING uses elec ici y f om su plus sola o wi d o hea a silica sa d which is fed h ough a a ay of elec ic esis ive hea i g eleme s o hea i o 1,200°C. The hea ed pa icles a e he fed by g avi y i o i sula ed co c e e silos whe e hey a e s o ed. The sys em ca s o e up o 26,000 MWh of he mal e e gy. Wi h modula desig , s o age capaci y ca be scaled up o dow wi h ela ive ease, NREL says.

Whe e e gy is eeded, he ho pa icles a e fed h ough a hea excha ge , whe e a gas is hea ed a d p essu ized o spi ge e a o s ha c ea e elec ici y fo he g id. The sys em discha ges du i g pe iods of high elec ici y dema d a d whe limi ed sola pho ovol aic o wi d powe a e available. O ce discha ged, he spe , cold pa icles a e o ce agai fed i o i sula ed silos fo s o age u il co di io s (a d eco omics) a e app op ia e agai fo cha gi g.

Silica sa d is abu da , s able, a d i expe sive, wi h a low ecological impac bo h i ex ac io a d e d of life. Li hium-io ba e ies have a excep io al e e gy s o age de si y bu a e expe sive. Pa icle he mal e e gy s o age is a less e e gy de se fo m of s o age, bu is ve y i expe sive a $2 o $4 pe kWh of he mal e e gy a a 900°C cha ge- o-discha ge empe a u e diffe e ce.

The e e gy s o age sys em is safe because i e silica sa d is used as s o age media, maki g i a ideal ca dida e fo massive, lo g du a io e e gy s o age. ENDURING sys ems have o pa icula si i g co s ai s a d ca be loca ed a ywhe e i he cou y. These sys ems may also be co s uc ed usi g exis i g i f as uc u e f om e i ed coal- a d gas-fi ed powe pla s, NREL says.

The Takeaway

E e gy s o age is he key o he e ewable e e gy evolu io . The e a e ways o c ea e s o age ha a e e vi o me ally f ie dly a d i expe sive. Pola Nigh a d NREL a e p omo i g wo of hem, bu he e will be ma y o he s as mo e people focus o he eed fo massive, affo dable e e gy s o age. Some hi g ha was u imagi able 20 yea s ago will be commo place 20 yea s f om ow. Sa d ba e ies may seem s a ge oday, bu hey will ce ai ly be pa of he e e gy s o age mix goi g fo wa d.

S eve w i es abou he i e face be wee ech ology a d sus ai abili y f om his homes i Flo ida a d Co ec icu o a ywhe e else he Si gula i y may lead him. You ca follow him o  Twi e bu o o a y social media pla fo ms u by evil ove lo ds like Facebook.

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RESEARCHERS i Fi la d have made a majo b eak h ough i solvi g he global e e gy c isis, by i s alli g he wo ld’s fi s fully wo ki g sa d ba e y.

Russia ‘al eady a ge i g’ Swede a d Fi la d says Ri kēvičs

We use you sig -up o p ovide co e i ways you’ve co se ed o a d o imp ove ou u de s a di g of you. This may i clude adve s f om us a d 3 d pa ies based o ou u de s a di g. You ca u subsc ibe a a y ime. Mo e i fo

These evolu io a y ew ba e ies ca s o e e ewable elec ici y fo mo hs a a ime, ove comi g a majo hu dle i e e gy s o age. The device uses low-g ade sa d, which is he hea ed up i he ba e y usi g elec ici y ge e a ed f om wi d a d sola e e gy, which is ge e ally cheape . The sa ds ca s o e ha e e gy i he fo m of hea a a ou d 500C, which ca he be deployed o wa m homes i wi e whe he e is highe dema d a d he e e gy is mo e expe sive.

Rela ed a icles

S o i g a y excess elec ici y ge e a ed has ow become vi al o Fi la d, as Russia, he cou y’s bigges gas sou ce, has hal ed i s supplies o Fi la d.

This came af e Helsi ki efused o pay fo Russia gas supplies i ubles af e Russia P eside Vladimi Pu i issued a ul ima um o do so.

As a esul of his loss of gas supplies, ma y i Fi la d a e co ce ed fo he wi e , as fea s of e e gy a io i g a d blackou g ow ac oss Eu ope.

Howeve , his ba e y, wi h i s 100 o es of sa d s o ed i side a g ey silo, has he po e ial o allevia e some co ce s.

These coa se g ai s of sa d could be a majo , cos -effec ive of s o i g e e gy, solvi g a c i ical issue wi h e ewable e e gy, by s o i g powe fo whe i ‘s eeded he mos .

Elec ici y f om e ewable e e gy is of e ge e a ed a si es fa away f om busy ci y ce es wi h high dema ds, mea i g ha massive i e co ec i g i f as uc u e is eeded o a spo his e e gy o p eve i f om goi g o was e.

Fu he mo e, sou ces like wi d a d sola a e i e mi e , mea i g he e a e imes whe he wi d does ’ blow a d he su does ’ shi e.

A majo way o p eve was e of e e gy is o build massive ba e ies, ha will s o e e e gy whe elec ici y dema d is low bu he supply is high.

READ MORE: Ba e y b eak h ough o evolu io ise elec ic vehicles

T e di g

Cu e ly, mos elec ic ba e ies a e made f om li hium, which makes i ela ively expe sive, pa icula ly as he global dema d fo li hium o build ba e ies fo elec ic ca s is a a  all- ime high.

The I e a io al E e gy Age cy es ima es ha he global dema d fo li hium could ise by a ou d 40-fold i he comi g yea s as majo ca make s shif o elec ic vehicles.

Howeve , i he ow of Ka kaa pää, a eam of you g Fi ish e gi ee s lau ched Pola Nigh E e gy, which buil he fi s comme cial i s alla io of a ba e y made f om sa d.

They believe ha his ba e y ca solve he p oblem e ewable e e gy has wi h a high dema d fo li hium.

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Ma kku Ylö e , o e of he wo fou de s of Pola Nigh E e gy old BBC: Whe eve he e’s like his high su ge of available g ee elec ici y, we wa o be able o ge i i o he s o age eally quickly.”

Usi g esis ive hea i g, cheap e ewable e e gy is used o wa m up he sa d up o 500C, a d give ha sa d is excelle a s o i g hea , he ba e y ca e ai his e e gy fo mo hs a a ime.