There are many ways to store energy, from electrochemical batteries, to pumped hydro, to iron-air batteries, to flywheels, and more. Energy Vault has taken a new approach, building towers with electric motors that lift and lower large blocks, making use of gravity’s force to dispatch electricity when it is needed.
The company said that it is entering the first phases of commissioning for its first commercial-scale gravity energy storage system (GESS). Slated to be fully grid-interconnected in the fourth quarter of 2023, the gravity tower will mark the world’s first non-pumped hydro gravity-based storage facility. The project is located near a wind power facility outside of Shanghai in Jiangsu province, China. It is a 25 MW/100 MWh storage system that makes use of the company’s new ribbon-based lifting systems.
“While this represents a significant milestone, our work in China is just beginning given recent local announcements of multi-GW hours of gravity energy storage buildouts, including projects announced in 2022 supporting China’s ‘Zero-carbon parks’ initiative with Energy Vault’s gravity energy storage technology,” said Robert Piconi, chair and chief executive officer of Energy Vault, in reference to a plan to build five storage projects with a combined storage capacity of 2 GWh in China.
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Swiss Storage Firm Energy Vault Commissions First Gravity Energy Storage System In China