Industrial energy storage device in Tampere Finland

Photograph by Polar Night Energy. Based in Tampere, Polar Night Energy Oy has developed a sand-based thermal energy storage system that efficiently stores heat generated from renewable energy while minimizing costs. The system converts electricity into thermal energy, which is then stored within a large mass of sand.

According to Business Finland's Tuukka Vainio, innovative energy storage solutions are seeing growing international demand. "Polar Night Energy's current solution is already scalable for export – particularly to countries with a heating demand.

Internationalization services, including strategy workshops, networks, and leads, have been actively utilized. The company has also benefited from EU funding advice, energy aid, and R&D funding. "The company used Business Finland's energy aid to enable its first commercial-scale investment in Pornainen.

Polar Night Energy is currently developing a new feature for its sand-based thermal energy storage system that enables stored heat to be converted back into electricity. This innovation, known as Power-to-Heat-to-Power, has sparked interest across Europe and among Finnish energy companies.

Polar Night Energy has leveraged Business Finland's support extensively. Internationalization services, including strategy workshops, networks, and leads, have been actively utilized. The company has also benefited from EU funding advice, energy aid, and R&D funding.

CEO Tommi Eronen, CTO Markku Ylönen, and their roughly 20-member team are now fully focused on advancing the Power-to-Heat-to-Power innovation. The latest funding round allowed the team to expand and provides the foundation for the next phase of development. Business Finland's funding is crucial in enabling the development of new technology.