How Thermal Batteries Could Replace Lithium-Ion Batteries

Thermal batteries could be the next big thing in energy storage, and companies like Rondo Energy and Antora Energy are betting big on them. Instead of using materials like lithium, these systems store excess electricity as heat in things like bricks or graphite, reaching over 3,000°F. That heat can then power factories or even be converted back into electricity. Rondo, backed by investors like Bill Gates, is scaling quickly, aiming to produce enough thermal batteries by 2027 to cut 12 million tons of CO₂ emissions. While challenges like production growth and market adoption remain, thermal batteries could play a critical role in decarbonizing industrial manufacturing for products like steel and cement.

Chapters:
00:00 - The heat battery revolution
07:00 - Thermal battery startups
08:34 - What’s next

Credits:
Produced and Edited by: Lisa Setyon
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Narration: Magdalena Petrova
Production support: Magdalena Petrova, Erin Black, Shawn Baldwin
Camera: John Beatty
Animation: Jason Reginato

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How Thermal Batteries Could Replace Lithium-Ion Batteries

[MattioliRavioli]

For those interested in reading, the Department of Energy recently published an article ("Achieving the Promise of Low-Cost Long Duration Energy Storage", Aug 24) discussing a bunch of grid-scale energy storage technologies, including thermal energy storage, and what can be done to bring down costs.

[anotherplottwist]

Seeing the YouTube recommended videos dating 5 years back right under this video speaking directly about these same batteries.

[MrKrinkleKirnk]

What is the energy loss in the process? That’s probably the most important point not addressed

[Dannybythebanana]

The issue with renewables is that they cut into the profits of fossil fuel generators.

California is constantly hitting overproduction in energy due to solar panels but can't inject that energy into the grid because it'll hurt shareholder feelings by driving down energy costs.

Instead we sell that overabundance to nearby states.

Renewables won't kick off if we keep prioritizing profits.

[Forex_Uncovered]

This is a really interesting innovation! Thanks for the coverage CNBC!!

[John-cro]

So old fashioned 'storage heaters' are back. In the old days cheap electricity was used to heat bricks inside a heater which then would release the heat during the small hours in the house.

[joependleton]

All this is new 😊🌞😊 combining forces of wind, solar, with thermal storage 🌿 great news!

[TojiFushigoroWasTaken]

Aren't there already salt or liquid sodium battries that just heat up salt to the point it melts and stores it. Apparently it loses like 0.5⁰c every day....how good is this compared to that

[urbanstrencan]

Great video, we will need more battery solutions for the future grid

[KaziNazmulYT]

I'm always curious about newer technologies. Thanks CNBC

[beyondfossil]

Thermal energy storage is vitally important in the global energy transition. Many residential and industrial processes directly use heat. At home there is hot water and home heating which is a big part of a home's energy budget. As price of home batteries are still high, there is an opportunity to store heat for later use from the grid electricity (or better rooftop solar) and use it later thus relieving the grid of peak demand loads when everyone wanting it: evening time (duck curve), winter storms, etc.

As the video pointed at 5:18, a pound of bricks stores more energy than pound of lithium batteries, and at a significantly lower price too.

On a larger scale, the world uses about 620-exajoules of energy annually. Only some 100-exajoules of it is electricity. The rest is basically a type of heat from internal combustion engines, jet engines, building HVAC, and industrial processes like manufacturing steel & concrete.

[growtocycle]

How about water heating for a suburb??? Much cheaper, easier to transport form of energy storage

[A_Changed_Heart_Ministries]

QuantumScape will be a big winner in this arena

[jeffhsu]

That it is able to deliver steam on a constant basis is HUGELY attractive.

[Cervontais]

Rondo it's what power plants crave

[jools]

Storing cheap energy and selling it when it's expensive is a no-brainer.

[JeffreyGoddin]

Like, in theory you could replace every boiler with this tech. My factory has two big ones running at all times to heat 45k lb aqueous batches up from room temp to 200 deg for reaction. Rather than run a boiler off natural gas, we could store peak energy during the day and release it throughout the day as needed as superheated steam.

[prajwalpramod]

Very interesting concept! I hope it turns out to be a viable method for widespread use.

[phillyphil]

another excellent report CNBC, keep up the good work...👍

[JT_]

It's an interesting tech. If you're using it to get electricity back, you of course suffer some additional losses in going back from heat. However there are so many uses where it's the heat that is needed. Industry especially. But also others. There is somewhere in Europe (don't recall where) where they are testing a system like this for a municipality. They use a steam system for heating houses & other structures during the winter. Using the heat directly lowers the loses & in their case they simply tap into existing infrastructure.