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A few years ago there was a slew of articles about storing energy by lifting and stacking heavy blocks of concrete. I have no idea how efficient those designs
by plipt 2y ago
A few years ago there was a slew of articles about storing energy by lifting and stacking heavy blocks of concrete.
I have no idea how efficient those designs are compared to hydro storage but I imagine they solve a problem for regions where there is no suitable site for the water reservoir.
Haven't seen that concept in the news recently, maybe it didn't pan out?
https://spectrum.ieee.org/gravity-energy-storage-will-show-its-potential-in-2021 https://spectrum.ieee.org/gravity-energy-storage-will-show-i...
https://www.wired.com/story/energy-vault-gravity-storage/ https://www.wired.com/story/energy-vault-gravity-storage/
- xaellison 2y agoIt appears Enel "plans" a gravity system in ERCOT (May 2024) https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/05/22/enel-energy-vault-build-18-mw-36-mwh-of-us-gravity-storage/ https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/05/22/enel-energy-vault-bui...
- hannob 2y agoPhysics isn't very kind to all these gravity-energy-storage ideas. You need very large objects and substantial height differences to store any meaningful amount of energy. While many ideas about new types of gravity-energy-storage are flaoting around, pumped hydro is the only gravity-storage technology that ever worked in practice. And even pumped hydro isn't in a great spot. Batteries are essentially competing for the same market (intra-day storage, few hours, high round-trip efficiency), and improving fast.
- AtlasBarfed 2y agoLat I checked it simply costs too much to build the lifting equipment and upkeep. It isn't economical because of the tower height. Pumped hydro, assuming there isn't a huge excavation effort for the lake, is just some pipes and a turbine.