How does this work?
Finnish startupPolar Night Energyhas developed a novel way to store heat.
A 47 meter steel container is filled with hundreds of tonnes of sand.
Its effectively a giant sand battery.
Why sand?
While wind and solar energy are extremely useful, they only offer intermittent power.
This means that once heated, the silo can stay hot for months with minimal intervention.
Theyve onlyraised 500k in seed funding.
But taking an idea from the hyperfocus University environment to real-world commercial applications is where many startups fail.
But the company has succeeded in going hyper-local.
Theyve partnered with energy provider Vatajankoski and gained local government traction to deliverdistrict heating.
And theyve hit at just the right time to solve a local problem.
Not great news for Finland, a country that experiences long, cold winters.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
