Concrete block energy storage

What is energy storage and how does it work?

The process is similar to a pumped-storage hydropower plant (HPP), with water substituted with concrete blocks and gravity doing the rest. The energy storage technology has been invented by a Swiss-based startup called Energy Vault, which recently received a USD 110 million investment from Softbank Group. Why storage?

Can you store green energy in giant concrete blocks?

Finding green energy when the winds are calm and the skies are cloudy has been a challenge. Storing it in giant concrete blocks could be the answer. The Commercial Demonstration Unit lifts blocks weighing 35 tons each. Photograph: Giovanni Frondoni In a Swiss valley, an unusual multi-armed crane lifts two 35-ton concrete blocks high into the air.

How does a concrete block work?

Solar or wind energy is siphoned into one of these tower blocks, and then AI informs the concrete blocks to rise up. Following this, the blocks are then " returned to the ground, and the kinetic energy generated from the falling brick is turned back into electricity," as per the company's own description. Energy Vault concrete block.

How do you store electricity?

Concrete blocks and cranes that is all that you need to store electricity. How? Simple. The crane uses excess energy from renewables to lift concrete blocks, and when the power is required, the crane lifts blocks, and the generator produces it.

How does a concrete crane work?

Simple. The crane uses excess energy from renewables to lift concrete blocks, and when the power is required, the crane lifts blocks, and the generator produces it. The process is similar to a pumped-storage hydropower plant (HPP), with water substituted with concrete blocks and gravity doing the rest.

How are concrete blocks stacked?

The concrete blocks are slowly hoisted upwards by motors powered with electricity from the Swiss power grid. For a few seconds they hang in the warm September air, then the steel cables holding the blocks start to unspool and they begin their slow descent to join the few dozen similar blocks stacked at the foot of the tower.