Welcome to Candyland!
Welcome to Candyland!
That might well be the first thing that comes to mind when you see this image. But these polished metal balls have little in common with sweets. What looks like the red and white rings of peppermint swirls is actually the multiple reflection of red coil windings. The spheres lie on a grid inside the coil. As electricity from renewable sources flows through the coil, they heat up to 1000 degrees Celsius. Air flows around these spheres, absorbs the heat and transfers it. The hot air can be used, for example, for high-temperature processes in industry. This innovative power-to-heat (P2H) technology can thus be used to generate carbon-dioxide-free high-temperature heat at up to over 900 degrees Celsius from renewable electricity. Scientists at the DLR Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics in Stuttgart are investigating such processes on a pilot scale using the P2H test bed at the large-scale HOTREG facility. At the heart of the facility is a five-metre high solid storage tank for operation with hot air generated by renewable energy at adjustable values for pressure and temperature.
