Brenmiller Energy executive vice president of operations Nir Brenmiller joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share news the company has hit a major milestone by inaugurating its Thermal Energy Storage (TES) gigafactory in Dimona, Israel.

Thermal energy storage, true to its name, stores energy as heat — a crucial function as society transitions to renewable sources like solar and wind, sources that are now economically viable to gather but, alas, are as variable as the weather and seasons.

Brenmiller’s thermal energy storage system, called bGEN, can be charged in various ways, the company explained in a video — solar, wind, the grid when there’s excess supply, industrial exhaust gas, and sundry other sources of heat or electricity. That energy is stored in the bGEN’s storage medium — crushed desert rocks, which can store the energy very efficiently as extremely high heat, reaching temperatures of up to 1,382 F (750 C). Water piped through the system is heated by this energy and turned into steam, which can then be accessed on demand.

The facility will serve as Brenmiller’s primary manufacturing hub. Brenmiller telling Proactive the company’s production lines are expected to be at full capacity by the end of the year producing p4 GWh of its bGen TES modules annually. The firm’s target customers are power plants and large industrial players that want to decarbonize their operations. Brenmiller has signed a second strategic cooperation deal with a multinational giant in the field of renewables and plans to expand quickly by using its unique technology.

The gigafactory, which is located in the Negev desert city of Dimona, is expected to generate up to 4 gigawatthours worth of bGEN units when it reaches full capacity; that’s enough to power potentially 3 million homes.