Solarpunk

5473 readers

76 users here now

The space to discuss Solarpunk itself and Solarpunk related stuff that doesn't fit elsewhere.

What is Solarpunk?

Join our chat: Movim or XMPP client.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

ex_06@slrpnk.net

poVoq@slrpnk.net

SteveKLord@slrpnk.net

Gravitricity: Storing energy using gravitational potential (gravitricity.com)

submitted 7 months ago by antrosapien@lemmy.ml to c/solarpunk@slrpnk.net

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I have been following them for a few years and they are making some slow and steady progress

From their page: As the world generates more electricity from intermittent renewable energy sources, there is a growing need for technologies which can capture and store energy during periods of low demand and release it rapidly when required.

At Gravitricity we are developing innovative, long-life, underground technologies which store energy safely and deliver it on demand at a lower lifetime cost than current alternatives.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

The only way to make this crane system work reliably would be to enclose it entirely to protect it from wind, and/or build a huge frame around it to keep the blocks sufficiently aligned..... making it a much larger undertaking than just a crane with a bunch of blocks around it.

[–] lens17@feddit.de 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

"Underground" is mentioned in the text above. I know that some people are considering to store heavy blocks connected to ropes in the shafts (?) of old coal mines that go down hundreds of meter. Use a single, very heavy block and you're good to go. Though I don't think that it holds a significant amount of energy (too lazy to calculate and no feeling for the possible dimensions of such a block). Also, digging new shafts should be prohibitively expensive for energy storage.

[–] ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 3 points 7 months ago

Ah yeah I missed that underground part, I mixed it up with another proposal for a freestand crane doing the same....

[–] UmbraTemporis@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 7 months ago

Putting the blocks onto some internal rail is probably the easiest way, with wheels in constant contact, similar to an elevator.