According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a material for
thermal energy storage, the material comprising one or more metallic substances selected from metals and / or
metal alloys encapsulated in a structural
host material, wherein the metallic substances have a
melting point in the range of 300-900 °C, and wherein the structural
host material comprises at least 90
mass% of a hardened inorganic binder comprising one or more of a hydraulic binder, an alkali-activated material and a
phosphate binder. According to another aspect, the invention provides a method of manufacturing said material for
thermal energy storage, the method comprising the steps of: - providing a mixture of a metallic substance in
solid state and a dry unreacted binder capable of reacting with a specified liquid; - adding the specified liquid to the mixture, thereby creating a paste containing the binder of the metallic substance; -
casting the paste into a desired shape; and - hardening the paste, including the reaction with the specified liquid, whereby the paste is transformed into a structural
host material encapsulating the metallic substance. According to yet another aspect, there is provided a method of heating a process
stream by electrical power, the method comprising: - directly or indirectly electrically heating an amount of a material for
thermal energy storage; and - directly or indirectly heat exchanging the process
stream with the amount of material, thereby heating the process
stream with heat from the amount of material.