r/Thatsactuallyverycool • u/BitschWack 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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u/BitschWack Wonder Apprentice Aug 10 '23 edited Aug 10 '23

I've tried, but apparently the BBC and WEF websites are not approved domains on this sub.

Edit: an excerpt from Wikipedia; Energy Vault, a Swiss company founded in 2017, stores electricity using a crane that raises and lowers blocks of concrete.

Gravitricity, founded in 2011 by Peter Fraenkel, built a 15-meter 250-kilowatt gravity battery prototype near Edinburgh, Scotland that started trial operations and grid-connection in April 2021.

From the BBC; Gravitricity, an Edinburgh-based green engineering start-up, is working to make this a reality. In April last year, the group successfully trialled its first gravity battery prototype: a 15m (49ft) steel tower suspending a 50 tonne iron weight. Inch-by-inch, electric motors hoisted the massive metal box skyward before gradually releasing it back to earth, powering a series of electric generators with the downward drag.

And so, with enough funding, a subterranean prototype (most likely located in the Czech Republic) should be functioning by 2024. First, though, a series of challenges must be overcome.

In a valley in southern Switzerland, the striking steel and concrete prototype from Energy Vault, another leader in the gravity battery space, stands more than 20 stories tall.

Hope this is useful.

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u/i-hoatzin Aug 10 '23

Yeah. I figured out the link issue. I tried to leave you one and the automoderator deleted my comment too. Very odd and annoying stuff. Thanks for the details in your comment bro.

It seems to me that the energy storage solution shown in the video is not energy optimal at all. Moving the blocks that way takes a lot of energy. I think it would be inefficient and difficult to maintain.

Take a look at a Chilean project that I think will be successful. You can use the following keywords to find it on the internet:

Valhalla+ energy+ Chile.

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u/BitschWack Wonder Apprentice Aug 10 '23

Thank you kindly. I'll check it out. There are a few types of gravity batteries (most of which I discovered today) and some definitely seem more efficient than others.

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u/i-hoatzin Aug 10 '23

Any time bro.

It certainly is quite a theme. It strikes me that there are not more projects that take advantage of that potential, especially those who can use water to make the solution viable. I suppose that the issue of the availability of water and sunlight throughout the year complicates the issue and reduces possibilities in many places.

The power that wields the oil industry should also have a lot of influence on the fate of projects.