Featured in The compelling case for big batteries – 08-2021

Hot thermal hopes

Thermal energy storage is dense, efficient, and suitable for greenfield and brownfield projects, with a potentially long lifespan. It can also be built with recyclable or low-impact storage materials. So why is it taking so long to achieve widespread commercial success? Tristan Rayner explores the latest developments.

By

Tristan Rayner

09 Aug 2021

Siemens Gamesa won the 2021 “Outstanding Projects” award from The Smarter E Europe for its Hamburg TES project, which utilizes volcanic rocks. | Image: Siemens Gamesa

Energy storage remains one of the great challenges of the 2020s, as the uptake of renewables, the cheapest and most sustainable form of electricity generation, continues to become standard.A default approach to store these intermittent sources of energy, though, is less clear. Long-duration storage continues to require a longer duration for economic viability and market …

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