A battery arrives that defies the laws of the universe and worries the United States. It’s incredible what lies ahead and could mark a new era in the energy sector. The battery that charges and discharges 50 kW for five hours was eye-catching news, but we are on the verge of a never-before-seen milestone.
The world needs alternatives to fossil fuels with some urgency, but to make the most of these options not only requires energy production, but also the ability to store it.
In the past, we have seen prominent systems such as huge sand reservoirs or large dams trying to meet energy needs, but there are much more ambitious projects.
This battery is here to change the energy industry
Energy Vault, a Swiss company, is betting on new forms of energy storage, including its gravity energy storage systems (GESS), which have been dubbed EVx and look from the outside like large buildings filled with concrete blocks. The company wants to harness gravity and kinetic energy with an automated weighting system.
If there is a surplus of wind energy, the Energy Vault mechanism harnesses it to power a mechanical crane that lifts special blocks to great heights. They remain suspended there until the energy needs to be “recovered”. At that point, the loads slide down, activating a system of cables and turbines that produce electricity.
These systems are now integrated into the EVx systems that have appeared in China, the United States’ main competitor in the renewable (and other) market, which is why the U.S. is concerned about the project.
The company announced some time ago that it had already “begun the first phases of commissioning the gravity energy storage system (GESS), grid-scale EVx”.
China has its hands on the battery of the future
The system is located on the outskirts of Shanghai, in Rudong, China, and is located next to a wind farm and an interconnection network with the Chinese power grid. It houses a capacity of 25 MW/ 100 MWh. In June 2023, testing of the power electronics services and belt hoist systems began.
The battery that fascinates the U.S. triumphs in China
The crane system that Energy Vault installed in Switzerland in 2023 had 5MW of capacity and 75% efficiency. With this new EVX, the estimated efficiency is even higher, at 80%, something the manufacturer says will make the alternative “a leader in energy storage efficiency compared to all other forms of mechanical, thermodynamic, compressed air or flow battery systems”.
Returning to China, this first project is accompanied by another identical system with a capacity of 100 MWh in Huailai County, Hebei Province, China. This proposal will be located in the city of Cunrui and will be the attempt to consolidate this unique energy storage technology.
Energy Vault moves forward with its battery in China
Energy Vault has successfully interconnected its GESS storage system. A development that was to Rudong EVx as the world’s first commercial scale non-pumped hydro gravity energy storage system.
However, final provincial and state approvals are still awaited before it can be operated commercially. The company has already begun construction of three other EVx GESS systems in China.
This “gravity battery” defies the laws of the universe, triumphs in China and worries the United States. A before and after in the way we conceive and use energy that could be copied by other countries.
The key is the potential of this battery to store energy in more stable conditions. In fact, it can do so even in microgravity conditions, which would help us advance the space-based photovoltaic generation projects we have seen in the past (anything could be, you know).