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How Gravitational Batteries Are the Future of Energy Storage

Gravitational Batteries 



Energy storage is a key challenge for the transition to a low-carbon economy. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind are intermittent and variable, meaning they do not always match the demand for electricity. To balance the grid and ensure reliability, we need ways to store excess energy when it is abundant and release it when it is scarce.

One promising solution is to use gravitational batteries, a type of electricity storage device that stores gravitational energy, the energy stored in an object resulting from a change in height due to gravity, also called potential energy. Gravitational batteries work by using excess energy from the grid to raise a mass to generate gravitational potential energy, which is then dropped to convert potential energy into electricity through an electric generator.

Gravitational batteries have several advantages over other forms of energy storage, such as lithium-ion batteries or hydrogen. They are scalable, flexible, durable, efficient and environmentally friendly. They can be located almost anywhere, as long as there is enough vertical space and a suitable mass to lift. They can store large amounts of energy for long periods of time, without losing capacity or degrading. They can respond quickly and precisely to changes in demand or supply, providing both power and energy services. They can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and land use compared to fossil fuels or pumped hydroelectricity.

There are different types of gravitational batteries, depending on the mass and the mechanism used to lift and drop it. One example is pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), where water is pumped to higher elevations to store energy and released through water turbines to generate electricity. PSH is currently the largest form of grid energy storage in the world, accounting for more than 90% of the global capacity. However, PSH has limitations, such as high capital costs, long construction times, geographical constraints and environmental impacts.

Another example is Energy Vault, a Swiss company that uses cranes to stack concrete blocks into a tower to store energy and unstack them to release it. The company claims that its system can store up to 80 megawatt hours of energy with a round-trip efficiency of 85%, at a lower cost than lithium-ion batteries. The company has built a prototype in Switzerland and plans to deploy its technology in India, Saudi Arabia and the US.

A third example is Gravitricity, a UK-based start-up that uses old mine shafts or purpose-built wells to suspend heavy weights that can be lifted or lowered by winches. The company says that its system can store up to 20 megawatt hours of energy with a round-trip efficiency of 90%, and can last for more than 50 years without degradation. The company has tested a 250-kilowatt prototype in Scotland and aims to develop larger projects in South Africa, Australia and Europe.

Gravitational batteries are not a new concept, but they are gaining momentum as a viable option for energy storage in the era of renewable energy. They offer a simple yet elegant way to harness one of the most fundamental forces of nature: gravity. By doing so, they could help us achieve a cleaner and more resilient energy system for the future.

Gravitational batteries can also be applied in Africa especially in Zimbabwe. For Zimbabwe has potential to increase energy storage in cases where the Kariba Dam does not have enough water to generate sufficient electricity through Hydroelectric Energy.

AI in Gravitational Batteries

AI with GPS can be used to arrange the heavy materials on towers and position them so that the system can work automatically without human interaction. The arrangement done with AI can be made so that it generates sufficient energy for example with algorithms AI can know which path(arrangement) to use to reduce energy loss.

Watch the video below to get more information

 



References:

(1) Gravity battery - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_battery.

(2) Can gravity batteries solve our energy storage problems? - BBC. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220511-can-gravity-batteries-solve-our-energy-storage-problems.

(3) What Are Gravity Batteries, and How Do They Work? - How-To Geek. https://www.howtogeek.com/839512/what-are-gravity-batteries-and-how-do-they-work/.

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Location: Zimbabwe

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