3 ms·

"15m (49ft) steel tower suspending a 50 tonne iron weight. Inch-by-inch." 50e3 x 15 x 9.81/3600/1000? ==> 2 kWh Can power 750 homes "instantaneously" for 29

• ggm 4y ago
  It can be constructed by traditional manufacturing, can reuse significant amounts of infrastructure, has next to no fire risk outside of the motor and generator, and scales well. It was a demonstrator. It was not built to full capacity, either by height or weight or generation systems. I love batteries, of all kinds. Including this one.
  • timonoko 4y ago
    To give some sense of scale, think about the portable atomic pile in the book Martian. It produces 2 kW for 20 years. Only problem is some radiation, so the hero does not like it very much, but needs a heater in his Martian car. Compare this tiny keg with your 50 ton tower and windmills and solar panels to feed it. Not that difficult, unless one has somekind of religious objections. But alas then you can also buy the "Atomfilter", popular in Deutschland for example, which removes harmful atoms from your electricity.