thermal energy storage, or TES, which uses molten salt or even superheated rocks
NREL prototype heaters powered by renewable energy sources like wind and solar can raise the temperature of sand particles to the desired temperature
deposited into a silo for storage and use later, either to generate electricity or for process heat in industrial applications
computer model that shows a commercial-scale device would retain more than 95% of its heat for at least five days
sand needs to flow through the storage device
heat transfer is much higher and much quicker and much more effective if you’re moving your media
sand as a storage medium would cost from $4 to $10 a kilowatt-hour
groundbreaking in 2025 on an electric thermal energy storage (ETES) system at NREL’s Flatirons Campus outside Boulder, Colorado
designed to store energy for between 10 and 100 hours
can retain considerably more heat, in the range of 1,100 C (2,012 F)
ceramic materials outperformed the sand in all categories, but the marginal performance gains were considered insufficient to justify the higher cost
sand costs from $30 to $80 a ton, the prices of the ceramic materials were about two magnitudes higher
sand is in the ultra-pure form of alpha quartz and readily available in the Midwest