Live SimulationThermal cockpit

    Interactive Sand Battery

    Watch the sand battery heat up to 600°C, route hot air through the internal coil, and cool down naturally when stopped.

    Core Temp
    25°C
    Output Air
    25°C
    Mode
    Standby
    Fan
    Idle
    Current state
    Standby
    Live Output
    25°C

    Timeline

    Development Timeline

    Compact, chronological notes from the first prototype to the patent grant.

    2022

    Initial Conception & First Prototype

    Concept Origin

    Inspired by Finland's sand battery, Kent began exploring thermal energy storage for agricultural applications.

    First Public Concept Discussion

    Presented concept at private event: Using thermal storage to revolutionize energy-intensive agricultural practices.

    First Working Proof-of-Concept

    Built at home using off-the-shelf consumer parts; 20kg fine white sand in stainless steel double-layer container; achieved 165°C internal while exterior remained safe at 40°C; output warm water at ~60°C via copper tube.

    Field Research

    Visited boutique tea factory and off-grid house to assess real-world applications replacing wood-furnace dryers.

    Thermal Breakthrough

    Core reached 150°C while exterior stayed at 28°C (cool to touch)—validating the heat isolation design.

    Prototype Zero Completed

    "Prototype Zero" completed in balcony lab, establishing the baseline architecture for all future iterations.

    2023

    Industrial Scaling & Patent Filing

    Vietnamese Patent Filed

    Vietnamese Patent Application No. 1-2023-05430 filed, defining key innovations: heat isolation valves and distributed heating elements in protective carbon-based tubes.

    Industrial-Scale Prototype Success

    First industrial-scale prototype successful: 800kg-2 tons of sand, reached 600°C, maintained heat for nearly 3 weeks.

    2024

    Commercial Units & USPTO Approval

    Sand Battery v2.0 Design

    Designed and tested v2.0 (~250kWh capacity) with rotary dryer system for commercial applications.

    USPTO Patent Application Filed

    Formal USPTO patent application filed using Vietnamese application as priority document.

    First Full-Size Commercial Unit

    First full-size commercial unit completed: 5 tons of sand capacity.

    USPTO Patent Granted
    Approved

    USPTO Patent Granted: US 12,130,086 B1 "Thermal Storage Batteries and Thermal Storage Battery Systems for Drying Agricultural and Food Products". Kent named inventor on the granted patent.