How Rondo Energy Stores Electricity as High-Temperature Industrial Heat

A system that converts cheap renewable electricity into continuous, high-temperature heat for factories by using two stages of thermal storage units that can charge and discharge independently.

What it covers

This system uses a two-stage thermal battery design to turn electricity into steady industrial heat. A primary storage unit is heated by electricity, which then warms a working fluid. This fluid travels to secondary storage units, which act as heat exchangers to warm up a process gas for industrial use. By having multiple secondary units, the system can charge one unit while another is discharging, ensuring the factory receives a constant stream of heat even if the electricity source is intermittent.

What it doesn't cover

• —Does not cover systems that lack a two-stage architecture with primary and secondary storage units.
• —Does not cover direct electrical heating of process gases without the intermediate working fluid stage.
• —Does not cover thermal storage systems that cannot operate in charging and discharging modes simultaneously.

The clever bit

The system uses a two-stage design where the working fluid and the process gas can be at different pressures and compositions, allowing the heat storage medium to be isolated from the industrial process gas itself.

Why it matters

Industrial processes like cement and steel production require massive amounts of constant heat, usually provided by burning fossil fuels. This patent provides a pathway to replace those fuels with renewable electricity by solving the 'intermittency problem'—the fact that wind and solar power aren't always available when a factory needs them.

Real-world examples

• 1.Rondo Heat Battery
• 2.Industrial brick-based thermal energy storage
• 3.Renewable-powered cement manufacturing