Finnish startup getting ready to test Sand Battery during winter

Polar Night Energy, a Finnish startup that makes high-temperature thermal energy storages for wind and solar power, expects to start testing a so-called Sand Battery in Pornainen during the winter and to have it commissioned next year.

This particular system stores renewable electricity as heat in sand or similar materials. In this case, the storage medium is crushed soapstone, a by-product of the fireplace production process employed by local firm Tulikivi.

Polar Night Energy is currently building this facility to provide thermal energy for local district heating company Loviisan Lämpö. The developer said in a statement today that construction is proceeding according to plan and that the site was filled with a total of 2,000 tonnes of soapstone at the end of October.

Going forward, the Sand Battery will operate fully on electricity. It will serve as the primary production unit for the district heating network in Pornainen, with a power output of 1 MW and a storage capacity of 100 MWh.

“The Sand Battery will significantly reduce the combustion-based energy used in our district heating network, and the collaboration with Tulikivi has added a valuable circular economy aspect to this project,” commented Loviisan Lämpö CEO Mikko Paajanen.

The project has the financial backing of Business Finland.

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