The world’s largest sand battery has been inaugurated in Finland, capable of storing vast amounts of energy generated from renewable sources like solar and wind.
The 13-metre-tall structure, which is situated in the southern municipality of Pornainen, is able to store up to 100 MWh of energy.
The thermal storage system, developed by Finnish firm Polar Night Energy, works by heating up low-grade sand with excess electricity produced through renewable energy.
The sand can then store this heat at temperatures of around 450C for weeks at a time. When required, the sand battery releases hot air, which is used to warm up water for the local heating network.
The hot water is used to heat homes, offices, a school and a church in the Pornainen town center, replacing the area’s old woodchip power plant and reducing carbon emissions by around 70 per cent.
“The facility is now operational and providing affordable district heating for the clients,” said Liisa Naskali, Polar Night Energy’s chief operating officer.
“We’ve shown that cost-effective solutions for electrifying heating do exist, it just takes courage to invest.”
Polar Night Energy say the technology offers huge potential to provide affordable and clean energy for energy utilities and industrial companies around the world.
Another pilot project is set to begin in Valkeakoski in the coming weeks, with Finland providing an ideal testbed after Russia halted gas and electricity supplies when the Nordic country joined Nato in 2023.
Finland is also pushing to reach carbon neutrality within the next 10 years, before reducing all greenhouse gases by more than 90 per cent by 2050.
“Energy storage plays an important role in the energy transition, where combustion-based production is phased out and society moves towards carbon neutrality,” Finnish Minister of the Environment and Climate Sari Multala said during the sand battery’s inauguration.
“The Pornainen Sand Battery is a great example of how the clean transition can be advanced through the electrification of district heating networks.”
