What is a Sand Battery?

The Sand Battery is a large-scale, high-temperature thermal energy storage system that uses sand or similar materials as its storage medium. It enables our clients to meet their climate goals while significantly reducing energy costs.

A solution to mitigate climate change  

The world is increasingly turning to renewable energy to combat climate change and reduce pollution. However, intermittent sources like solar and wind only produce energy when the sun shines or the wind blows, creating a mismatch between energy production and consumption.

As the share of renewables grows, energy storage becomes critical for maintaining grid stability and storing energy for later use. The Sand Battery efficiently stores large amounts of intermittent energy for extended periods and returns it as highly valuable heat when needed.

Storing renewable energy

Generate hot air, hot water, or steam for your process without combustion – the Sand Battery offers versatile applications. Currently featuring a temperature range that spans 60–400 °C, it covers 36% of all industrial process heat needs.

The Sand Battery’s design is simple, robust, and customizable, delivering high efficiency and a low cost per unit of energy capacity. It outperforms combustion technologies in operational costs and risk management across a wide range of applications.

The system charges by using electricity from the grid or local renewable sources such as solar PV or wind farms, storing energy when clean and low-cost electricity is available. Energy is transferred to the Sand Battery through a closed-loop heat transfer system. When heat is needed, it’s discharged via a heat exchanger.

Flexibility for your heat production and the electric grid

The Sand Battery is highly flexible, capable of adjusting its charging power to take advantage of the fastest ancillary markets and the lowest electricity prices.
Its large storage capacity mitigates risks from electricity price spikes while maintaining a steady heat output for your processes. The system also enables participation in grid balancing markets without compromising heat production.