Finland has inaugurated an industrial-scale sand battery this week in the southern town of Pornainen, where it'll take over heating duties from an old woodchip power plant for the municipality. It's set to reduce carbon emissions from the local heating network by as much as 70%, and is the largest…
They’re called batteries, but they’re not batteries, by definition. They’re called batteries mainly for marketing, I imagine.
However on the grid in English speaking countries they will refer to them differently. Probably TES or TESS, as it goes nicely with BESS (Battery Energy Storage System), which is the common industry name for grid scale electric batteries. Furthermore, in that sector it’s necessary to have clear distinction, as different types of generation have different characteristics.
Source: am HV electrical engineer.