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."*

992 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

124 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/RandomComputerFellow Curious Observer Aug 10 '23

So why not just pump water up a hill? Pumps are very efficient and water is much more easy to store and cheaper.

1

u/raz-0 Aug 10 '23

Because you want the battery in a place without a lot of water? Looking at precipitation maps, like half of china is 7cm or less of annual rainfall.

Even without low rainfall, large swaths of the planet have exceeded the capacity of the aquafer, so other uses have dibs on the rainfall already.

3

u/RandomComputerFellow Curious Observer Aug 10 '23

Lol, you think there is any place on this earth where it is easier to acquire the cement than water?

Just to put this in perspective: The existing hydroelectric gravity dam Three Gorges Dam in China, has an capacity of 40 billion metric tonnes of water. The worlds yearly cement production is at 4 billion metric tonnes. This is the global production, we can't dedicate all of it towards this gravity battery project.

By the way. These 4 billion tonnes of cement are responsible for 4% of our global CO2 production. Just in terms of CO2 using cement is stupid.

1

u/raz-0 Aug 10 '23

I never said it was a good idea, but that’s what US being sold.