Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Jillian Ambrose

Molten salt and human sweat: the weird batteries that could store renewable energy

A solar tower surrounded by curved arrays of mirrors in a Nevada desert, with water reservoirs in the foreground
The Crescent Dunes project in the Nevada desert harnesses the sun’s power to heat a reservoir of potassium and sodium nitrate to 560C. Photograph: UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

In the deserts of the United Arab Emirates a sprawling clean energy project, stretching across an area roughly the size of 12,600 football fields, will play host to a breakthrough allowing solar energy to power the equivalent of half a million homes through the night.

The Gulf state has been steadily combining 5.2GW of solar power capacity with 19GWh of battery storage to create the largest battery scheme in the world.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.