The world's first thermal battery in operation

A company has manufactured the world’s first thermal battery in operation, a device with a service life of at least 20 years

This thermal energy device, TED, is a modular energy storage unit that accepts any type of electricity (solar, wind, fossil or directly from the grid) and uses it to heat and melt silicon in a highly insulated chamber.

Patented by CCT Energy Storage, and designed to achieve certain goals, this high-density thermal battery, powered by abundant elements, is recyclable. It could become a key technology for mobility towards a future of clean and sustainable energy.

Thermal battery: operation and technical aspects

Serge Bondarenko, CEO of CCT Energy Storage, explains the advantages of replacing lithium batteries with silicon: “Molten silicon does not degrade the way lithium does, that is a chemical process; ours is simply a phase change with heat.”

To extract energy from the battery, it uses a thermal engine. Generally, a TED contains 1.2 MWh of energy, 12 times more than a lead-acid battery and somewhat more than lithium ones.

Nevertheless, thermal batteries can range from 5 kW of power to a virtually unlimited size. As long as the energy is easily controllable and accessible, it should not pose a problem.

Likewise, Bondarenko has also referred to the environmental concept behind these batteries: “Silicon improves heat storage after each cycle and, if a TED device is retired, it is 100% recyclable”.

Regarding charging and maintenance, there are three moving parts per thermal battery, so their care is negligible; that is, unlike lithium, the TED system shows no signs of degradation. Bondarenko assures that they expect a service life of at least 20 years.

First commercial deployments of thermal batteries

The pioneering thermal battery company, CCT, has signed an initial agreement to supply its TED devices to Stillmark Telecommunications, as well as a reciprocal manufacturing agreement with the MIBA group, which will hold exclusive rights to manufacture and sell the technology in Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.

In turn, Serge Bondarenko says that once the devices have been commercially tested, the company plans, within a couple of years, to scale up and build devices of more than 100 megawatts.

Obviously, this is great news for renewable energies, which can be very effective at generating large amounts of energy. The ability to capture energy by day and by night makes renewable energies a true 24-hour source of supply.