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Energy Vault’s gravity-storage system stores electricity by using it to lift heavy blocks, then generates electricity as those blocks descend under control. The 24-ton figure refers to the reported mass of each block in the facility described by Futurism in April 2023; the project later identified as Rudong, China, was reported connected to the grid in December 2023.
How lifting and lowering blocks stores electricity
The system converts electrical energy into gravitational potential energy. When electricity is available, motors and lifting equipment raise heavy blocks. When electricity is needed, the equipment lowers them in a controlled way, and their movement drives generators that send electricity back to the grid. The system is conceptually similar to pumped-storage hydropower, which stores energy by moving water uphill, but Energy Vault’s design uses solid weights instead of elevated water. Futurism’s April 23, 2023 report describes the 24-metric-ton blocks; Enel Green Power explains the gravity-storage concept.
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The basic trade is straightforward: electricity is consumed to raise the blocks, and some of that energy is returned as electricity when they descend. That makes the facility a storage system, not a source of energy. Its usefulness to the grid depends on such factors as its power output, total stored energy, efficiency, cost, site requirements and operating performance.
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A June 28, 2024 report by the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan, edited from Swiss.Tech, identifies the China project as Rudong, near Shanghai. It reports that the facility connected to the grid in December 2023, has a power rating of 25 MW and can store up to 100 MWh. The same report puts its height at roughly 120 meters. These are reported project specifications and milestones, not independent measurements of energy delivered or evidence of the facility’s present operating condition. Read the June 2024 account.
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| Reported project | Power rating | Energy capacity | Status in cited source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rudong, China | 25 MW (Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan, June 2024) | Up to 100 MWh (Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan, June 2024) | Reported connected to the grid in December 2023; current operating status not established by that report |
| Snyder, Texas | 18 MW (Enel Green Power, May 2024) | 36 MWh (Enel Green Power, May 2024) | Described as planned in Enel Green Power’s May 2024 announcement |
MW and MWh describe different things. Megawatts measure power—the rate at which a system can deliver or absorb energy. Megawatt-hours measure energy capacity—the amount it can store or deliver over time. Dividing a stated energy capacity by a power rating gives a theoretical duration at that constant output: Rudong’s reported 100 MWh divided by 25 MW is four hours, while Snyder’s planned 36 MWh divided by 18 MW is two hours. Those calculations are not evidence that either plant can sustain its rated output for that long under actual operating conditions.
How this differs from other gravity-storage ideas
Gravity storage is a broad principle, not one standard machine. Energy Vault’s reported approach uses blocks and lifting equipment in a large structure. Gravitricity, a separate company, has pursued a different design that raises and lowers heavy weights in underground mine shafts using hoists. ABB announced a collaboration with Gravitricity concerning hoists and end-of-life mine shafts; that announcement is not about Energy Vault’s block facility. ABB’s December 11, 2023 announcement.
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Pumped-storage hydro also stores energy gravitationally, but moves water between reservoirs at different elevations. These designs have distinct equipment, construction and siting needs, so a result or limitation associated with one should not automatically be applied to another.
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The dated project reports establish the described design and reported milestones, but they do not provide a like-for-like, independently verified assessment of performance or economics. The material cited here does not establish Rudong’s measured round-trip efficiency, lifetime cost, operating lifetime, current dispatch or present operating status. The U.S. Department of Energy’s August 2024 long-duration-storage report gives broader context on storage technologies; it is not an independent validation of this facility. DOE report.
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Futurism’s 2023 article repeats a company claim of at least 80% efficiency. That is a company claim reported by Futurism, not an independently verified measurement of the Rudong facility. A useful comparison with batteries or pumped hydro would need the same evidence for each option: power, energy capacity, discharge duration, round-trip efficiency, siting and construction requirements, lifecycle cost, project status and the source and quality of each figure.
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