The same physics phrase that Isaac Newton made famous after observing an apple fall from a tree centuries ago holds true for clean energy tech that could transform our power production in the future.
"What goes up, must come down," is a quote often attributed to the genius, explaining gravitational force. Switzerland's Vault Energy is applying the maximum 1,640 feet underground in Sardinia, where the company is putting in a pumped hydro storage system to repurpose a soon-to-be-retired coal mine, according to a press release on the news published by Business Wire.
Energy Vault has developed several types of grid energy storage concepts using gravity. One in China uses the force of falling composite blocks to generate power. In Sardinia, the company has partnered with coal miner Carbosulcis to deploy a version of the tech in mine shafts, turning them from dirty fossil sites to clean energy hubs, per the summary.
"We are very excited about the innovative energy storage combined solution," Carbosulcis CEO Francesco Lippi said in the Business Wire report.
Pumped hydro typically works by moving water between two reservoirs, one located above the other. Excess power, or renewables, are used to pump water to the top reservoir. The H2O is stored energy, which is released when the grid is strained. The water falls to the lower reservoir, powering a turbine along the way, according to a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) description.
Energy Vault has upgraded the works with energy management software. The tech can analyze "millions of data points per second." This allows it to gauge when power can be pulled to pump water, or when water can be released to provide juice, per a video clip from Energy Vault.
The concept is also being deployed by other developers stateside in Nevada. While costly, the DOE said the setups are highly efficient, at up to 80%. The report touts the tech as crucial to grid resiliency. In the U.S., pumped storage provides 40% of the energy needed to jump-start the grid after a blackout, the government reports. The Scottish government has also greenlit a $630 million water battery project.
Sardinia officials plan to leverage the tech to strengthen the grid there and to encourage conversion to renewables, according to the press release.
"We believe that this exciting application of our energy storage solutions, including a new use for our gravity energy storage technology — deploying it underground — could hold vast potential for future applications," Energy Vault Chief Commercial and Product Officer Marco Terruzin said.
It's part of clean energy work orders by governments worldwide to address our planet's overheating and health. The World Health Organization reports that almost every person on Earth breathes air that doesn't meet its quality standards. The air pollution is associated with millions of premature deaths, WHO adds.
Fortunately, you don't have to wait for a water battery project to come to town to take action. Simply replacing your old light bulbs with efficient LEDs can save $600 a year on energy expenses, when replacing around 40 of them. The LEDs produce five times less pollution than traditional bulbs.
Ideally, electricity illuminating the LEDs will come from renewable sources, maybe even with help from gravity deep underground. Testing on some of the Sardinia site's components should be finished next year, officials report.
"We see a future where our technology helps power the world with renewables," Terruzin said in the press release.
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