A well-connected U.S. firm is using China as a proving ground for its technology that aims to store renewable energy.
Energy Vault Refresher
Those of you who follow this column know that Energy Vault (NYSE: NRGV) is designing and building facilities that essentially recreate the physics of the most popular form of energy storage – pumped hydro – without pumps or hydro.[1]
Energy Vault installations use excess renewable energy to lift massive composite blocks; then, when the energy is once again needed on the grid, the blocks are dropped and the kinetic energy from the dropping blocks spins generators that supply electricity to the grid. The company believes it will be able to achieve a respectable round-trip efficiency (RTE) of over 80% with its current design....