![\"Mandatory](\"https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/17124239\/SEI_213061447.jpg\")
<\/div>Artur Widak\/NurPhoto\/Shutterst\u200bock<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
It is by now well established that to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, we need to reach net-zero carbon emissions as fast as possible. That means getting more of our energy from renewable sources and finding ways to store it for long periods to overcome the intermittency of wind and solar.<\/p>\n
Huge battery installations and green hydrogen \u2013 where excess renewable energy is used to split water \u2013 are often touted as the most promising storage solutions, and clever new ways to hoard excess power are popping up all the time (see \u201cGiant dome filled with CO2 could store excess power from renewables\u201d<\/a>). However, the possibilities for storing renewable energy as heat are often overlooked.<\/p>\n When we think about renewables, we tend to think about electricity. But heat itself is also a valuable commodity. About half of the world\u2019s total energy demand is for heat, whether for warming homes or to power the industrial production of food, medicines, materials and more. Besides, stored heat can also be used to generate electricity when the sun stops shining and the wind dies down.<\/p>\n