A note posted on the EnelX publication’s website states that construction has begun on this 13-megawatt (MWh) plant, which uses “the world’s first patented sand battery that stores energy in the form of high-temperature steam.”
The software has been developed by Enel X, an entity of the National Electric Energy Entity of this country, (ENEL), jointly with the Magaldi Group, an Italian company specializing in material handling at very high temperatures.
The source said the initiative, dubbed Verde Magaldi Thermal Energy Storage (Mgtes), uses a layer of fluidized sand to store heat, which is then released in the form of steam at temperatures between 120 and 400 degrees Celsius.
This first installation, of 125 tons, will be powered by a 5 megawatt photovoltaic generator and will be installed in the IGI food company, located in Bocchino, said Mario Magaldi, the head of that company.
Magaldi said, “The 13 MW system is expected to come online in the second half of 2024, covering about 20.0 percent of IGI’s energy consumption and enabling renewable energy 24 hours a day.
For his part, Luigi Lanuza, Head of Innovation and Energy Storage at Enel X, noted that “the renewable energy that is converted into heat and stored with this technology has an efficiency of more than 90.0 percent, while hydrogen is much lower,” so Mgtes can replace the use of this is the last one.
On the other hand, from an economic point of view, while a classic lithium battery would cost between 40 and 60 euros per megawatt-hour, the standard cost of energy accumulated with the new system is around 20 euros, Lanuza added.
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