Water, water - not everywhere: The Reengineer Monitor #28

Sand batteries, ice batteries, nuclear - and more!

Photo by Mark Stebnicki.

Heating and cooling

US heat pump maker Carrier has launched a new heat pump that it says can work in temperatures as low as -30C.

The world’s biggest “sand battery” has become operational in Finland. Built by Polar Night Energy, the 1 megawatt battery reaches a maximum temperature of 600C and is ten times larger than Polar Night Energy’s pilot sand battery from 2022. The new, larger battery is big enough to heat the entire town of Pornainen (population: 5,000) for one week in winter.

Leaving sand aside, what about ice? An “ice battery” can use cheap nighttime electricity to freeze water so that it is available to lower the energy required for cooling buildings during the day. Such a system, in New York City, was recently the subject of a feature by CBS News.

Buildings and infrastructure

The cost of ensuring water security around the world by 2040 could reach $1.5 trillion annually, a new report says. This is significantly more than the currently anticipated spend on such infrastructure. (This year, countries will commit around $400 billion to water security.)

In the more immediate term, the European Union (EU) fears a serious drought this year and is already urging more cautious water use now and in the future.

Difficulties over access to water are worsening in Kashmir, between India and Pakistan.

Here in the UK, researchers have published a report on what the UK’s driest spring in 70 years means for agriculture. Efforts to increase water pipeline interconnectors are underway, though, with one project set to connect the relatively wet county of Lincolnshire to drier areas in East Anglia.