Energy Vault to deploy 2 GWh of gravity storage capacity in China

The Energy Vault energy storage solution lifts 35-ton composite bricks to store kinetic energy, then lowers the bricks to convert the kinetic energy into electricity.

Energy Vault, a Swiss-based provider of gravity energy storage systems, has announced that it will build five energy storage projects in China with a combined storage capacity of 2 GWh.

The company said the projects will rely on its EVx gravity energy storage technology, and that it will collaborate with U.S.-based Atlas Renewable Energy, Chinese nonprofit EIPC, China Tianying Telecom and unnamed selected provincial and local governments Government cooperation to carry out construction.

"In February 2022, Energy Vault and Atlas Renewable Energy signed a license and concession agreement for the deployment of Energy Vault's gravity energy storage technology in China," the company said in a statement. Energy Vault has received a $50 million equity investment from Atlas as part of its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) earlier this year. The two companies immediately set about building the first 25 in Rudong County, Jiangsu Province, outside Shanghai. The megawatt (MW), 100 MWh system, which broke ground in March earlier this year.”

In April 2022, Energy Vault signed an agreement with the National Power Company of India (NTPC Ltd) for a long-term strategic partnership. NTPC will deploy Energy Vault's EVx gravity energy storage technology and software solutions based on the results of the joint feasibility study.

In January, Korea Zinc agreed to invest $50 million in Energy Vault to use the latter's energy storage technology at its Australian refinery. The South Korean smelting giant is the latest major company to fund the Energy Vault before its listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

The new investment increases Energy Vault's previously announced private equity investment from $100 million to $150 million, as Energy Vault agrees to become a public company through a merger with Novus Capital Corporation II. Its last funding round included investments from Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, BHP Ventures, Volta Energy Technologies, and SoftBank Vision Fund, among others.

Energy Vault's EVx energy storage system is comparable to pumped hydro, using grid-scale renewable energy to drive motors and lift six-arm crane towers of 30-ton blocks (instead of water) when supply is plentiful to a certain height. When electricity needs to be sent back to the grid, the blocks are lowered, collecting kinetic energy.

Energy Vault claims the composite blocks have zero degradation in their storage capacity and can remain in the raised position indefinitely. The company partnered with Mexico's Cemex to develop the composite blocks, using the soil where the energy storage system is built, as well as other materials such as recycled coal ash, waste tailings from mining operations and decommissioned wind turbine blades.

Energy Vault's EVx towers can achieve round-trip efficiencies of 80% to 85% and have a technology lifespan of more than 35 years. It features a scalable, modular design with storage capacity up to several gigawatt hours.