New Batteries That Store Blistering Heat Are Taking Off

Nestled in the cornfields of eastern South Dakota, a new type of battery is running, and some companies are betting the idea could transform the global energy system. Most big batteries store electricity and discharge it as needed, and they have already revolutionized power grids and ushered in an era of electric vehicles. But this battery array, built over the past year by a start-up called Antora Energy, stores large amounts of blistering heat.

To charge up, Antora draws surplus electricity from nearby wind farms that would otherwise go to waste, using it to heat carbon blocks to as much as 4,352 degrees Fahrenheit. The blocks stay hot for days, releasing heat on demand to produce steam for a nearby biofuel refinery, replacing the need to burn natural gas and coal. Only a smattering of these large heat batteries exist today. But experts say the technology, also known as thermal storage, has the potential to unlock vast amounts of low-cost clean energy.

“We want this to be a global energy solution,” said Justin Briggs, a co-founder and chief operating officer of Antora, which is based in San Jose, Calif. “We want to be able to provide cheap, reliable energy anywhere in the world.” Interest in energy storage has soared in recent years, partly because of the rapid growth of wind and solar power. While those technologies can generate electricity cheaply, they are intermittent and often produce power when it’s not needed, like on gusty nights.

That means periodic gluts of low-cost energy, if anyone can figure out how to harness it. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times?

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