[neltnerb]

The parent correctly notes that you can't use solar thermal directly for industrial processes because it won't get hot enough and that it's easier to retrofit electric infrastructure than a bunch of mirrors and optics.

Grandparent:

> These are unique it seems because they're durable electric heating elements that can hit industrial process temperatures and might be cheaper then alternatives?

Storage usually makes less sense, but depends on capital cost per kW-hr right? No idea on the economics of that, but an electric heater can get hotter than solar thermal and use much less space at the point of use.

They are durable electric heating elements that can get hotter than solar thermal and hit industrial temperatures without using fossil fuels to heat locally with fire.

[s1artibartfast]

I understand what they are. I am skeptical that they more economical than other forms of grid power storage.

IF you just want to go electricity>heat>electricity Industrial Arc furnaces can go to 2000 C (and much higher but they have no industrial need).

I would love to be wrong.

[danans]

> IF you just want to go electricity>heat>electricity

I think the idea here is to go electricity->heat-storage->heat-usage, using the heat storage to take advantage of cheap renewables that might be otherwise curtailed and to buffer the heat to provide reliability for whatever process it is used for.

Almost any form of energy storage other than heat (i.e. batteries, hydrogen, gravity) would be far more expensive in that use case. By comparison, bricks are an incredibly cheap way to store heat.

If packaged correctly this could also be useful for uses like ovens at industrial bakeries, which have highly predictable energy use patterns.

[s1artibartfast]

Thanks, I understand better. I'm sure there are some applications for pre-heating to time shift demand, but I do think it is limited.

[danans]

> I'm sure there are some applications for pre-heating to time shift demand, but I do think it is limited.

Another example of a big application for time-shifted heating is domestic hot water heating with heat pump water heaters (or even resistance water heaters if the electricity is cheap enough). At least one company (https://www.harvest-thermal.com/) is taking this further to also provide space heating by time-shifting heat, again using water as the energy storage technology.