About Gravity Storage
Gravity Storage is a concept with which unprecedentedly large quantities of power can be stored for a long time of 6-14 hours, and can be made available again. The fundamental principle is based on the hydraulic lifting of a large rock mass. Using electrical pumps, as already used today in pumped storage power plants, water is pumped beneath a movable rock piston, thereby lifting the rock mass. During times of insufficient generation of renewable power, the water which is under high pressure from the rock mass, is routed to a turbine, as in conventional hydroelectric plants, and generates electricity using a generator.
The capacity of energy storage reaches 8 GWh or more, comparable to large Pumped Hydro Storage.
The rock piston should have a diameter of at least 100 meters in order to be competitive with pumped storage power plants. The real costs will vary for each site. But we calculate with costs of about 200 USD/kWh capacity at a size of 250-meter diameter.
