Why not use spare energy to lift -really- heavy object(s) and let gravity power the generators when there is a shortage?
Million tons of concrete isn't going to suffer any maintenance expenses over decades.
Million tons of concrete isn't going to suffer any maintenance expenses over decades.
Sure, pumped hydro has advantages, but has serious geographic limitations - you need a fairly ideal site. The key is that these can be built almost anywhere.
[0] https://spectrum.ieee.org/gravity-energy-storage-will-show-i... [1] https://www.energyvault.com/ [2] https://www.gravitricity.com/#about [3] https://n-e-l-g.de/ [4] https://www.gravitypower.net/
But the point about little progress by these companies still holds. ARES has been around for 11 years now and has one 50MWh project to talk about that covers 20 acres.