Get the latest tech news
Cheap heat-storing 'firebricks' projected to save industries trillions | Researchers predict that firebricks could reduce global reliance on batteries by 14.5%, hydrogen by 31%, and underground heat storage by 27.3% — if the world switches to full renewable energy by 2050.
Transitioning to 100% renewable energy globally would be cheaper and simpler using firebricks, a form of thermal energy storage with roots in the Bronze Age, to produce most of the heat needed for industrial processes, according to a new Stanford study.
Refractory bricks, which can withstand high temperatures without damage, have been used for thousands of years – likely since the early Bronze Age – to line furnaces, kilns, fireplaces, and ovens. The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of using firebricks to store most industrial process heat in 149 countries that had, in a hypothetical future in the year 2050, transitioned to 100% clean and renewable energy. Here, I can see a substantial benefit at a low cost from multiple angles, from helping to reduce air pollution mortality to making it easier to transition the world to clean renewables.”
Or read this on r/tech
