Electrified heat batteries head to a Holcim cement plant for the first time
Electrified Thermal Solutions will test heat batteries at a Holcim cement plant in the first commercial use of the technology for calcination.
Boston-based startup Electrified Thermal Solutions will install two of its heat batteries at a cement plant run by global manufacturer Holcim, marking the first commercial use of thermal-energy storage in a cement kiln's calcination process. Cement production accounts for roughly 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, most of it from the chemical breakdown of limestone and from burning fossil fuels to reach the extreme heat the process requires.
Electrified Thermal's system charges insulated stacks of metal-oxide firebricks with electricity during cheap, off-peak hours, then releases that stored heat, reaching up to 1,800 degrees Celsius, by piping hot air directly into industrial equipment. The units, set to come online early next year, will supply heat for calcination, which typically needs temperatures between 900 and 1,500 degrees Celsius.
Holcim, an investor in Electrified Thermal, is also backing other decarbonization startups, including Sublime Systems, which is developing a kiln-free electrochemical process. Competing heat-battery makers Antora Energy and Rondo Energy have each raised large funding rounds this year and struck their own industrial deals, signaling growing momentum for electrifying heavy industry as grids add more renewable power.
Based on reporting by Maria Gallucci for Canary Media. Read the original: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-industry/electrified-thermal-solutions-holcim-first-thermal-batteries
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
