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A company called ARES is working on a system that basically consists of automated electric trains carrying bricks uphill to store and then coasting back downhil
by jcrawfordor 10y ago
A company called ARES is working on a system that basically consists of automated electric trains carrying bricks uphill to store and then coasting back downhill with them to retrieve power. Basically pumped hydro but without a need for large quantities of water (and really ideal for installation in the desert, where there's a lot of open land with gentle slopes). They say efficiency near 80% with a first installation going in in Nevada in 2017.
This is comparable efficiency to batteries but less expensive and with significant reuse of well-established technologies and industries (e.g. most of the construction work can be done by existing rail contractors).
Although battery technology continues to advance, my suspicion is that large-scale electricity storage is going to tend to be mechanical for cost reasons.
- spangry 10y agoHuh. That's some pretty impressive efficiency. I don't know why, but the thought of a train carrying a brick uphill only to bring it back down again strikes me as a little bit comical :) Very interesting though. I wonder how far those trains travel, and if there's some way to use them simultaneously as energy storage and transmission infrastructure. I guess it depends on how the energy is recaptured. I'm just wondering because that could solve some of the cost issues associated with putting big solar arrays out in the middle of the desert... Something like a linear alternator maybe? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_alternator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_alternator
- emilong 10y agoIs this the ARES you mean? http://www.aresnorthamerica.com/ http://www.aresnorthamerica.com/ Love that they call it the ‘Sisyphus Railroad’.