According to foreign media reports, with the increase in renewable energy production, the demand for new storage methods is also increasing for use when there is no sunlight or wind. Now, a Scottish company called Gravitricity has broken ground on a demonstration site. This innovative new system stores energy in the form of "gravity" by lifting and dropping huge weights.
When heavy objects are hoisted in the air by powerful cables and winches, they can store a lot of potential energy. When the energy is needed, they can be lowered into the shaft, the winch is turned, and then the electrical energy is sent to the grid. Gravitricity said these units have peak power outputs of 1 to 20 megawatts and can operate for 50 years without loss of performance. The system can change from zero power to full power in less than one second, and can quickly release load power or reduce its speed to a level that can last for 8 hours within 15 minutes.
To charge this huge mechanical battery, electricity from renewable sources powers the winch, and then the heavy objects are lifted back to the top of the tower. Overall, the efficiency of the system is between 80% and 90%.
Ultimately, this system should be able to store energy at a lower cost than other grid-scale energy storage systems. This concept sounds very similar to the concept proposed by Energy Vault, which uses a crane to lift concrete blocks into the tower. However, Gravitricity seems to go further. The company is currently in the early stages of building a demonstration facility and will test the concept next year. It is understood that the tower is 16 meters high and can lift two 25-ton objects and generate 250 kilowatts of electricity.
"In the test, we will put the weights together to generate full power and verify our response speed," said Miles Franklin, Gravitricity's chief engineer. "Then we will test these two single weights, one after the other. Decrease to verify the stable energy output for a long period of time, and other test items will be conducted to demonstrate and improve the full capabilities of the system."
It is reported that Huisman in the Czech Republic is building a custom winch and control system for Gravitricity, while Kelvin Power is manufacturing a lattice tower in Leicester, UK. These separate parts will be shipped to Leith Harbor in Edinburgh for the construction of the demonstration machine.
Testing of the facility will begin in the spring of 2021, and a full-scale 4 MW project will begin later in the same year.
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