Covestro Will Install an Innovative Heat Battery From Rondo Energy

Covestro partnered with Rondo Energy to install an innovative heat battery for the first time. The Rondo Heat Battery stores intermittent renewable power and produces continuous high-temperature steam, making it a more sustainable alternative to fossil-fuel-based steam production.

The Breakthrough Energy Catalyst foundation, founded by Bill Gates, and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are funding the installation of the Rondo RHB100 heat battery, which is slated to commence functioning at Covestro's Brunsbüttel plant by the end of 2026. The project will then generate 10% of the steam necessary on site, saving up to 13,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year.

Rondo Heat Batteries use century-old materials and cutting-edge robotics to collect energy while delivering high-temperature heat and power. Electrical energy is stored as heat in bricks, which have been utilized in steel mills for centuries. The heat drives a standard boiler, which produces zero-emission steam. Renewable power may be temporarily stored when there is a surplus, while a consistent volume of steam can be created continually.

"As an innovation company, we are always excited when we can further develop and test promising ideas that can bring us closer to our goals of a circular economy and climate-neutral production," says Dr. Thorsten Dreier, CTO of Covestro. “The heat battery is such an idea: a new technology that allows us to go one step further on our way to a sustainable future.”

“Rondo Heat Batteries deliver deep decarbonization by changing the fuel, not the factory,” said Eric Trusiewicz, CEO of Rondo Energy. “We’re honored to be working with Covestro to prove our safety, reliability, and efficiency under real conditions on a large scale over a long period of time. And we’re excited to be deploying in Brunsbüttel, where large flexible electricity loads are particularly valuable to the electricity grid.”

Steam generation is a major aspect of Covestro's manufacturing process, accounting for a significant share of energy usage. The knowledge and insights gained from this initial heat battery installation will allow Covestro to examine if larger-scale deployments are conceivable.

Source: Covestro