Finland inaugurates world’s largest sand battery

Finland has inaugurated the world’s largest sand battery, a 1 MW/100 MWh thermal storage system developed by Polar Night Energy.

The 13-metre-tall facility, located in the southern municipality of Pornainen, began operating in June after being commissioned by district heating company Loviisan Lämpö.

The unit, which contains around 2,000 tonnes of crushed soapstone, stores excess renewable electricity as heat in sand at temperatures of around 500C.

It can hold this energy for weeks and release it as hot air to warm water for the local district heating network.

The hot water supplies homes, offices, a school, and a swimming pool, replacing the area’s old woodchip plant and cutting carbon emissions by about 70%

Polar Night Energy said the battery has exceeded efficiency targets in its first months of operation.

“The facility is now operational and providing affordable district heating for the clients,” said Liisa Naskali, the company’s chief operating officer. “We’ve shown that cost-effective solutions for electrifying heating do exist, it just takes courage to invest.”

The sand battery delivers 1MW of thermal power and offers 100MWh of storage capacity, allowing electricity consumption to be optimised over days or weeks.

It can also participate in reserve markets, charging when electricity prices are low or when prompted by grid operator Fingrid.

The role of energy storage

Finnish Minister of the Environment and Climate Sari Multala highlighted the technology’s wider role. “Energy storage plays an important role in the energy transition, where combustion-based production is phased out and society moves towards carbon neutrality,” she said.

“The Pornainen sand battery is a great example of how the clean transition can be advanced through the electrification of district heating networks.”

Polar Night Energy is negotiating several large-scale projects for district heating, hot air, and process steam production. The company also plans to begin constructing a pilot project in Valkeakoski to test power-to-heat-to-power sand battery technology.

Finland aims to reach carbon neutrality within the next decade, with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90 per cent by 2050.

More information: https://solarstoragextra.com/finland-inaugurates-worlds-largest-sand-battery