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Nestled in the cornfields of eastern South Dakota, a new type of battery is running, and some companies are betting the idea could transform the global energy system. Most big batteries store electricity and discharge it as needed, and they have already revolutionized power grids and ushered in an era of electric vehicles. But this battery array, built over the past year by a start-up called Antora Energy, stores large amounts of blistering heat. To charge up, Antora draws surplus electricity from nearby wind farms that would otherwise go to waste, using it to heat carbon blocks to as much as 4,352 degrees Fahrenheit. The blocks stay hot for days, releasing heat on demand to produce steam for a nearby biofuel refinery, replacing the need to burn natural gas and coal.