The war in Ukraine fundamentally changed world energy, but it also helped accelerate many promising developments that can help us use more efficiently energy that is increasingly produced and stored ecologically. There is already a good example of this – in Finland, a “battery” made of sand is already being used experimentally. It is much more environmentally friendly and cheaper than lithium-ion solutions, writes Business Insider.
Context: It is no accident that such innovations are being developed in this part of Europe. “Russia wanted to ensure that Ukraine would not receive any help from the allies or that it would be minimal (…) One of the ways to do this was to hold Europe hostage through its huge dependence on Russian energy supplies,” commented Deputy .- the director of the Global Energy Center of the Atlantic Club, Olga Hakova.
American Li-Cycle has opened the first lithium-ion battery recycling plant in Europe
Each production line at the plant has the capacity to process 10,000 tons of lithium-ion battery material per year
RES energy is not only cleaner, it also gives independence from the fossil fuels that the Old Continent has to import – including from countries that use them as a geopolitical mace.
Harvesting energy from the sun, wind and water and storing it in lithium-ion batteries, however, is not the long-term solution. Lithium supplies are gradually becoming monopolized by a few global players – as is the case with oil. The mining of nickel and cobalt contributes to enormous damage to nature, and in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, tens of thousands of children are forced to work in the mines in inhumane conditions.
In addition, li-ion batteries are highly flammable.
A new mineral deposit in Norway could meet global demand for batteries for the next 100 years
This is claimed by the Anglo-Norwegian company Norge Mining
Details: Finnish company Polar Night Energy’s alternative uses safe and abundant sand to store energy. How does their battery work?
When there is a sufficient amount of RES energy, it is used to heat the contents of a specially insulated vessel containing tens of tons of sand. The sand is maintained by means of a fan at a constant temperature which is well above the boiling point of water. When the stored energy needs to be used, air heated by the sand can be used to turn water into steam – for example, to drive a turbine.
Pessimists note that sand is up to 10 times less efficient than a chemical battery, but at the same time, Polar Night Energy notes that their technology is also ten times cheaper, and the only moving part in it is the fan, which is not expensive.
Chinese investment in battery plants in Europe nearly tripled last year
The growth of green investment is mainly due to several large-scale initiatives by Chinese giants
Their prototype has a capacity of 8 megawatt hours of thermal energy and can produce about 200 kilowatts – enough for 100 households and a public pool. This is achieved with 110 tons of sand, of a type that is not suitable for construction.
According to the company, the technology could also be used to create 1,000-megawatt-hour batteries.
On the other hand: Even the manufacturing company is very careful in its comments about the possibilities of sand batteries being used specifically for the purpose of generating electricity. The reason – the conversion of heat into electricity requires additional systems and leads to certain losses.
Turkey begins construction of first factory for the production of batteries for electric vehicles
The production will be exported to 120 countries
Also, the need for large amounts of sand means that this type of system is better for entire settlements or factories – not so much for, say, individual houses.
What’s next: Polar Night Energy says there’s already a lot of interest in their batteries from companies in a variety of industries.
2023-09-05 08:30:31
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