r/Thatsactuallyverycool Wonder Apprentice Aug 09 '23

video China commissions the world's first commercial gravity battery.

*"The principle of operation of a gravitational battery is much simpler than lithium-ion batteries. Basically, it's just a system of cranes that raise and lower concrete blocks.

The design include hoists that lift 30-ton composite blocks using an electric motor. The raised blocks are stacked on top of each other, which creates potential energy. At the moment when the consumer needs energy, the blocks fall under the influence of gravity, and the energy released in this process is collected and sent to where it required. The plant is capable of storing up to 100 MWh of energy and delivering 25 MW of power."*

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1

u/EvilMoSauron Curious Observer Aug 09 '23

Wow! Did China talk with Elon Musk about marketing pseudoscience garbage? Are they going to showcase the perpetual motion machine next?

3

u/BitschWack Wonder Apprentice Aug 09 '23

Why do you think it is nonsense ? Switzerland, Scotland and the Czech Republic have all shown interest. I believe that Switzerland actually has a working system.

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u/EvilMoSauron Curious Observer Aug 09 '23

You can get more power and have less maintenance from a nuclear power plant.

0

u/Kazamz Aug 09 '23

The point is to store the energy produced that isn't used and use that when consumption is high. Nuclear power plants can't just be turned on and off. Solar panels produce whenever the sun shines.

Using energy to pull something in the air and then letting it down and producing energy again isn't pseudoscience. Its regenerative braking but vertical.

Versions where water is pumped up high and let down exist.

How this system compares remains to be seen.

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u/trevhcs Curious Observer Aug 09 '23

You don't have to turn off a nuclear plant, you just turn it down to low and then up when needed extremely quickly by control rods.

Versions with water are called hydro electric as in been used for a long time. No need to reinvent the wheel.

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u/EvilMoSauron Curious Observer Aug 09 '23

You're losing more energy than storing from friction, heat, breaking, and operating the thing.

Thermodynamics states that all energy tries to meet a balance of equilibrium. So, even storing power like batteries are on expiration timescale.

What this machine promises is lightening in a bottle that tries to promote a pause on energy decay because gravity is involved in the equation. In order to move a weighted object, a force greater than the object's mass needs to be produced, and the energy transferred from the force to the object to a generator is reduced and only makes a net negative on energy produced.

It's better to just use radioactive materials that will last for millions of years; use lasers to tickle atoms to produce more energy out than it took in; or invest in researching matter-antimatter reactors.

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u/Candyvanmanstan Aug 09 '23 edited Aug 09 '23

Where is your source for these other countries? As far as I can see a Swiss startup is planning to build this thing in China. The Scottish one is a tiny 10 second drop proof of concept. The Czech one is not due to be finished until 2026 and all I could find was that it's "to be built in abandoned mines" but doesn't mention anything about what technology it is. Could just be pumped water for all we know.

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u/ShitPostGuy Curious Observer Aug 09 '23

Does gravity work differently in China than elsewhere?

They’re raising blocks weighing 27200kg. Potential energy is mass (in kg) times the acceleration of gravity on Earth (9.8m/s2) times hight in meters. In order to store 3 megawatt hours of power (the output of a single wind turbine after 1 hour) that block would need to be lifted 40,516 meters into the air. For reference, climbing mount Everest from base to summit is only 8,800 meters.

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u/Alexei_StukovUED Aug 09 '23

No we have absolutely not shown any interest. Stop spreading your bullshit. You keep quoting crap yet offer zero sources. This is a stupid concept that nobody is paying attention to, and for all the right reasons.