Electrified Thermal Solutions is heating up thermal energy storage technology. The MIT spinout is partnering with refractory materials supplier HarbisonWalker International (HWI) to manufacture E-bricks — electrically conductive firebricks.

These E-bricks will be used to fire up the Joule Hive Thermal Battery engineered by Electrified Thermal Solutions. Renewably sourced electricity delivered to the battery is converted and stored as heat through the E-bricks at temperatures up to 1,800° C (3,275° F), sufficient to power the most demanding industrial processes and enabling users to deliver consistent, high-temperature heat using renewable power. The bricks perform the functions of the heating element, thermal storage media and heat exchanger to supply industrial heat.

"Industrial heat represents one of the most challenging frontiers in the world's effort to address climate change. The majority of energy used annually for industrial heating worldwide comes from burning fossil fuels," said Daniel Stack, co-founder and CEO of Electrified Thermal Solutions. "To make a meaningful impact at global scale, we needed a solution that could be produced rapidly through existing supply chains. Our partnership with HWI transforms what could have been a manufacturing bottleneck into a powerful scaling advantage, allowing us to meet the multi-gigawatt demand we're seeing from industrial customers worldwide."

The first commercial-scale demonstration of the Joule Hive Thermal Battery equipped with E-bricks is expected to be operational in 2025, with the goal of deploying 2 gigawatts of electrified thermal power by 2030.