A groundbreaking energy project has gone live in southern italy – a fluidized sand‐based thermal battery built at industrial scale, designed to reduce reliance on natural gas and support cleaner industrial heat. The installation is located in the province of salerno, and it’s the first of its kind in the world.
The technology – dubbed the “sand battery” or Magaldi green thermal energy storage (MGTES) – stores heat by using sand that is fluidized, meaning airflow lifts and circulates the sand to allow efficient capture of thermal energy. The heat can then be released as high-temperature steam (between ~120-400 °C) for industrial processes, instead of burning gas.
