The world’s largest sand battery has been inaugurated in Finland , capable of storing vast amounts of energy generated from renewable sources like solar and wind.

The 13-metre-tall structure, which is situated in the southern municipality of Pornainen, is able to store up to 100 MWh of energy – enough to power roughly 10,000 homes for a day.

The thermal storage system, developed by Finnish firm Polar Night Energy, works by heating up low-grade sand with excess electricity produced through renewable energy .

The sand can then store this heat at temperatures of around 500C for weeks at a time until the grid requires electricity again.

When required, the sand battery releases hot air, which is used to warm up water for the local heating network.

The hot water is used to heat homes, o

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