We are creating a new method for storing energy in the form of heat during the summer. During the winter, the heat is used to heat water and indoor air.
The Swedish newspaper Dagens industri has published an article about Grounded Heat’s work with Sand Battery Technology and our ongoing development of the next prototype. The publication reflects a growing interest in thermal energy storage solutions and highlights both the potential of the technology and our current projects.
We are looking at the possibility of installing sand batteries in connection with schools and other public buildings. Sand batteries would not only save electricity through more efficient heating, but also serve as an important part of emergency preparedness.
When Svenska kraftnät recently announced that there will be no additional electricity reserve this winter, concerns about power shortages were raised. In an interview with SVT, operations manager Pontus de Maré highlighted two particularly risky scenarios: an extremely cold winter across Europe with no wind and limited import possibilities, or one or more nuclear reactors being temporarily taken offline.
In such situations, local sand batteries can play a crucial role.
A Sand Battery stores energy as heat rather than electricity. During the summer, dry sand is heated to several hundred degrees using solar panels or cheap electricity when supply is abundant. The stored heat can then be used in winter to warm buildings, ventilation air, or water without straining the power grid during peak demand.
In practice, a sand battery works like a giant thermos filled with sand. The energy is stored safely and efficiently, and since sand is both cheap and harmless, the storage can be placed underground and last for many years with minimal maintenance.
On cold, windless days, acute power shortages often occur. Electricity is needed not only for households and industry but also for heating. If part of the heating demand is already covered by heat stored in sand batteries, total electricity consumption can drop significantly during the most critical hours.
A household with a sand battery can store heat from summer solar energy or cheap nighttime electricity and use it during winter, independent of the power grid. On a larger scale, municipalities can install local sand storage to heat hospitals, schools, or apartment buildings. Together, these small storages form a decentralized capacity reserve, a heat buffer that smooths peak loads without fossil fuels.
Sweden’s current energy system lacks local preparedness for prolonged power outages. Sand batteries offer a new way of thinking. Instead of a single central capacity reserve, thousands of smaller heat storages can be spread across the country to collectively reduce the risk of electricity shortages.
If every municipality had its own heat storage, Sweden would be much stronger in scenarios such as a severely cold, windless winter. Being able to manage for an extended period without electricity while still having heat is not only reassuring but can prove crucial for the stability of the energy system.
We have received support from the Swedish Board of Agriculture to form a working group on thermal energy storage for grain drying and heating.
The project aims to explore how stored heat can be used to make grain drying and heating in agriculture more efficient, which can help reduce energy consumption and increase flexibility in energy use. It can also contribute to Sweden’s preparedness in times of crisis, such as prolonged power outages if a crisis or war occurs.
We look forward to developing solutions together with actors in the agricultural and energy sectors and to exploring how thermal energy storage can make the process more sustainable and cost-effective.
Do you want to contribute to the project? Get in touch and let’s discuss it further!
We are driven by a vision of a more sustainable and self-sufficient energy future. By developing innovative energy storage solutions, we aim to enable more efficient use of renewable energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Our ambition is to scale up the technology and integrate it into both large and small energy systems, where sand batteries can play a key role in the sustainable energy supply of the future. We believe in collaboration between research, industry, and society to create long-term solutions that benefit both the environment and future generations.
We are creating a new method for storing energy in the form of heat during the summer. During the winter, the heat is used to heat water and indoor air.
Renewable energy is one of the UN's global goals. In the same spirit as the sand battery's objective, number seven is to "ensure access to economically affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all"
A large percentage of our greenhouse gas emissions come from the way we extract, convert and use fossil energy, not least for heating. For a normal Swedish villa, approx. 70% of the energy consumption is estimated to be used for heating hot water and indoor air.
Renewable energy solutions are becoming cheaper, more reliable and more efficient every day. The sand battery can be an important contribution to this development as it offers a solution to one of energy production's biggest challenges, namely a source of even energy supply all year round.
Solar energy stored in sand can keep the heat for months, which means that heat generated during the summer can be used to heat houses and water during the winter months. The sand battery is right on time: green, clean energy that is stored in sand, which is a cheap raw material with a low climate impact.
— The Sand Battery Development Team
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