Factories cannot always wait for cheaper power. Calectra is developing heat storage
Making steel, cement and glass requires intense heat, often when a production line cannot simply wait for cheaper power. Calectra is developing an on-site thermal battery for those manufacturers. Its idea is to charge the system with electricity during lower-cost hours, then draw on stored heat as production requires it.
Heat on the factory's schedule
That separation could let a factory take advantage of lower electricity prices without moving its production schedule. CEO and co-founder Pauliina Meskanen said in 2024 that manufacturers need reliable heat and often cannot afford to pay a premium to decarbonize.
Calectra's design passes electric current through ceramic material that both generates and stores heat. Air or another gas would carry that heat into an industrial process. The company says it is designing the system to charge for four to eight hours a day and deliver heat continuously, at a selected temperature of up to 1,600°C.
A retrofit rather than a new production line
Calectra says the battery is intended to fit into existing manufacturing facilities, either replacing a fossil-fuel burner or running alongside it. The latter configuration could give a plant a way to introduce electric heat without immediately abandoning its existing heat source.
Whether the economics work would depend on the site's electricity prices and on integrating the system into its production process.