Heat battery
Covestro AG (Leverkusen, Germany; Covestro.com) is partnering with Rondo Energy, Inc. (Oakland, Calif.; rondo.com) to install a Rondo Heat Battery at Covestro’s Brunsbüttel, Germany site. The battery stores intermittent renewable electricity and delivers continuous high-temperature steam, thus offers a sustainable alternative to steam generation with fossil fuels (see Chem. Eng., March 2022, p. 5).
The Breakthrough Energy Catalyst foundation set up by Bill Gates and the European Investment Bank are supporting this installation of the heat battery, which is scheduled to begin operation at the end of 2026. The project will then produce 10% of the steam required at the site, cutting CO2 emissions by up to 13,000 ton/yr.