SANDSTORE: High-Temperature Sand Battery Project Seeking Transnational Modeling/Simulation and TES/Material Science partners

The SANDSTORE project aims to pioneer a paradigm shift toward zero-combustion thermal networks by displacing fuel dependency across both macro-utility (district heating) and micro-residential scales. The project introduces a novel, multi-scale sand-based thermal energy storage (TES) framework operating at high temperatures (300°C to 600°C). By utilizing a cutting-edge composite of silica sand and repurposed industrial steel slag, SANDSTORE acts as a highly flexible virtual thermal battery. It absorbs fluctuating residential PV or grid-level electricity surplus, converts it into stable, long-duration thermal reserves, and drives both power-to-heat integration and industrial symbiosis.

We are a highly focused core of two Swedish partners bridging system engineering with advanced material science: Teknik- och Energikompetens (Project Lead): Specializing in energy systems engineering, thermo-hydraulic network modeling, CAD/CFD digital prototyping (Autodesk Fusion/ANSYS Discovery), and community-level network integration.

Swerim (Research Partner): A world-class metallurgical research institute managing the laboratory-scale material characterization, cyclic high-temperature performance testing, and structural de-risking of industrial by-products.

Transnational partners sought to complete our consortium and fulfill the CETPartnership transnational eligibility criteria:

We are actively seeking two international partners (universities, R&D institutes, or technology SMEs) specializing in either:

1. Modeling/simulation/CFD specializing in transient simulations to validate economic viability and operational flexibility on fluctuating European electricity markets.

2. Energy market modeling bridging the gap between technical pilot data and economic/regulatory reality of the European grid.

3. Material science/TES technology specializing in solid-state thermal energy storage, porous media or high-temperature media characterization