In a huge breakthrough, the Finnish researchers have unleashed ‘The Sandman,’ the world’s first Sand Battery. The news of this era-defining battery innovation comes just days after the inception of the Swiss Water Battery, another landmark in what seems to be a magnificent streak for the world of science.
Made-Easy For Green Energy Problems
With the threat of environmental catastrophe posed by global warming looming, we had has no choice but to pursue green energy solutions in order to reduce the global carbon footprint. Then we collided head-on with the tricky situation of finding a sustainable answer to the problem regarding sourcing various sorts of renewable energy resources. But setting all speculations to rest, Polar Night Energy, which has been providing renewable energy solutions to numerous people for quite some time, has done absolute wonders in pulling this off.
The Sand Battery energy storage serves as a massive boost to the continuous attempts being made globally to arrange a life jacket for renewable energy sources. While the 14-year long Swiss Water Battery project costed the Swiss government a staggering amount of 2 million USD, the Finnish solution seems way cheaper. Researchers have opined that this giant battery could actually solve the issue of year-round supply, a major concern for green energy.
Believe It Or Not! – The World Of Sand Battery
- Cost Effective: Polar Night Energy has claimed that the simple setup costs less than €10 (USD 10.27) per kilowatt-hour, and it functions in a completely automated fashion, without any consumables, amounting to a minimal cost.
- Inch-Perfect Efficiency: The awestriking Finnish Sand Battery is reported to clock an efficiency rate of 99%.
- Huge Capacity: It comes with a capacity of up to 20 GWh and is expected to help homes, offices and swimming pools stay warm.
- Safe and Secured: As the entire process doesn’t involve any poisonous or hazardous material and lets it run with minimal emissions, it ticks the right box, closely adhering to the safety guidelines.
- Long Lasting: It’s supposed to be a sustainable solution as the lifespan is believed to be close to 10 years.
- Resources: It uses a nominal power of up to 100 MW and 100 tonnes of builder’s sand have gone into its making.
- Manufacturer: Finland based Polar Night Energy, perceived to be one of the pioneers in the green energy solutions.
- Location: Town of Kankaanpää, in western Finland.
How does the Sand Thermal Energy Storage operate?
This Thermal Energy Storage system is painstakingly built around a large, insulated steel tank – around 4 metres (13.1 ft) wide and 7 metres (23 ft) high – filled with plain old sand. When this sand is heated up, using a simple heat exchanger buried in the middle of it, the device becomes capable of storing an impressive 8 megawatt-hours of energy, at a nominal power rating of 100 kW, with the sand heated to close to 500-600 degrees Celsius (932-1112 °F).
A Herculean Task Executed By Polar Night Energy
The Polar Night Energy deserves a big pat on the back for delivering this phenomenal Sand Battery project, which is going to be of immense help not only to Finalnd, but also the world in general. “It’s really easy to convert electricity into heat,” commented Polar Night CTO Markku Ylönen. “But going back from heat to electricity, that’s where you need turbines and more complex things. As long as we’re just using the heat as heat, it stays really simple.”
Will Bring Spring During The Wintry Days
The Polar Night Energy has claimed that this incredible Sand Battery will be monumental to restoring parity during the times of the prolonged winter in Finland, when the sun doesn’t see the light of the day for months. If everything goes as planned, the Finnish Sand Battery will be able to reduce annual greenhouse emissions by between 57 and 283 megatons of CO2 equivalent per year by 2030.
