The Launch of The World’s First Commercial Sand Battery Exceeded All Expectations
The launch of Polar Night Energy’s sand battery exceeded all expectations and garnered worldwide attention. Miika Peltola, the company’s Communications Manager, reveals why.
Miika Peltola is the Communications Manager of Polar Night Energy. He is responsible for the company’s communications and marketing efforts. Peltola joined Polar Night Energy’s team as a part-time communications specialist in January 2021 and became a full-time employee in 2023.
He was part of the team that launched the world’s first commercial sand battery last summer, and the announcement was a huge success, surpassing expectations. The news went viral when the BBC ran a story and TV news report on the subject in early July.
“The sand battery has been featured in over a thousand media outlets,” Peltola says. “According to media monitoring, the potential reach of these stories is about 4.3 billion people. These are mind-boggling numbers.”
He adds, “It’s really fun and exciting to do communications for a startup whose product generates so much interest worldwide. We’ve received inquiries from every continent, even Antarctica.”
CNN, ABC Australia, The Times, Daily Mail, Euronews, Sky News, TF1, Tokyo TV, Fast Company, The Next Web, Wired Middle East, Deutsche Welle, Der Standard, India Times, the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and Finnish newspapers such as Helsingin Sanomat, MTV3, YLE, and Aamulehti all covered the story.
But why did the sand battery receive so much attention? Peltola believes it’s primarily due to four factors: the idea, the communication strategy, the timing, and luck.
“The sand battery is a slightly surprising but simple solution to mitigate climate change. The timing of the launch was apt, as the energy crisis was just starting. In addition to good communication, we were extremely lucky that the news began to spread.”
Peltola came to Polar Night Energy from The City of Tampere’s Climate and Environmental Policy Unit, where he worked as a communications designer. Before that, he was an entrepreneur at Sissy Oy, a design agency, for over ten years. He has also worked for Siemens, Metso Paper, and AGI magazine (now known as Print&Media).
Peltola has a B. Eng. degree in media technology and a master’s degree in art. He earned his master’s degree from Aalto University School of Arts, Design, and Architecture’s Creative Business Management program.
“It’s great to use my expertise to promote environmental issues,” he says. “Polar Night Energy’s sand battery is a truly concrete solution to mitigate climate change, as the company’s energy storage systems can increase wind and solar energy production while reducing the use of fossil fuels.”
In addition to this important goal, the company’s humane work culture impressed Peltola.
“We have people working here, not just resources. It’s a joy to work here. Additionally, we’re in an exciting phase as a company. It’s fascinating to see what we can accomplish together.”