As the world looks for ways to transition into renewable energy, one of the key issues is finding a way to store the energy that solar panels and wind turbines create. Most companies like Tesla or Enphase offer lithium batteries, but two young engineers in Finland have an alternative: the sand battery.
What do batteries do for clean energy?
Batteries are essential for renewable energy because they store the energy that solar panels and wind turbines generate. That’s important because the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow, but we still need energy. Batteries help solve this problem by storing the power so we can use it when required.
Many different types of batteries have various capacities, like lithium-ion or lead-acid batteries. But two young engineers in Finland have created a new kind of battery made from sand and water that has an impressive capacity to store large amounts of energy while also being environmentally friendly.
How do lithium batteries work?
Lithium batteries are the most popular type of battery for renewable energy storage. They work by storing energy in a chemical reaction that releases on-demand to power electronic devices. Lithium batteries are long-lasting, lightweight, and have high power density, making them ideal for solar and wind energy storage.
However, lithium is expensive, and mining it produces toxic waste. The sand battery uses no lithium and only requires sand from a nearby beach or riverbed as an ingredient; since it does not rely on rare materials, the price will stay low even if production increases dramatically.
What makes sand a viable alternative?
Traditional lithium batteries rely on a chemical reaction to store and release energy. On the other hand, the sand battery uses a readily available resource. It appears to make no difference where the sand for the battery is collected. That means even landlocked locations that aren’t near a beach or desert could buy construction sand as an alternative.
This new battery works by filling up a metal silo with sand. A computer monitors and converts the electric energy from wind turbines or solar panels into heat energy. The sand then stores the heat and can convert it back into electricity through resistive heating.
The system’s computer converts electricity into heat energy, which the sand can store at temperatures up to 1000 degrees Celsius (1832 Fahrenheit). Polar Night Energy, the Finnish company that successfully deployed a sand battery, claims their sand silos can store the heat for months. Then, when energy is required, the computer transfers it back from heat to electrical power as needed.
What does this mean for solar & wind?
The sand battery is a promising renewable energy storage solution that could help make the transition to renewables more seamless. It also emphasizes the “clean” in “clean energy” since a sand battery won’t produce toxic waste like lithium batteries. Additionally, there’s a reduced risk of accidents when dealing with sand rather than chemical reactions. As the world looks to transition to clean energy and Europe looks to find replacements for Russian oil, sand batteries provide an ingenious solution.
