UK-based Gravitricity plans to set up a pilot demonstration project for its gravity energy storage systems in India. Contact online >>
UK-based Gravitricity plans to set up a pilot demonstration project for its gravity energy storage systems in India.
Image: Gravitricity
Gravitricity, a Scottish energy storage specialist, has launched a project to demonstrate the feasibility of its gravity energy storage technology for grid balancing in India, as the nation has a growing share of renewables in its power mix.
The company has secured GBP 194,000 ($232,750) from the UK government''s Ayrton Fund to find a demonstration site in India for its gravity energy storage technology. The Ayrton Fund, which is part of the UK''s International Climate Finance commitment, aims to give developing countries access to the latest cutting-edge tech to help reduce their emissions and meet global climate change targets.
Gravitricity has developed a gravity-based energy storage system that works by raising heavy weights (up to 12,000 tons) in a deep shaft and then releasing them when energy is required. The gravity storage technology could be ideal for India, which aims to install more than 500 GW of renewables by 2030, up from 100 GW in 2021. This rapid increase in variable renewables generation – much of it solar – will bring with it a need for energy storage.
Gravitricity claims its system can operate for up to 50 years and store energy at half the cost of lithium-ion batteries. In India, it has partnered with Panitek Power on the 12-month project, which aims to identify and shortlist sites for a demonstration scheme.
Gravity storage is a relatively simple technology. It doesn''t rely on any rare earth metals, and has a very long lifespan, so it can be manufactured and deployed locally, said Chris Yendell, project development manager at Gravitricity.
This seems like a very expensive way to store energy. The motor-generators, winches, pulleys, and cables need to be maintained. Pumped hydro seems simpler and solves water-storage issues at the same time.
Ehhhh, pumped hydro has its own mechanical complexity. I doubt this would be any more difficult to maintain. And pumped hydro can be difficult to site. You can’t just plop one anywhere.
In the case of one of these “gravity batteries”, there are thousands and thousands of deep mines all over the world with shafts that could accommodate something like this.
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Baud Resources, a cleantech start-up, has developed a gravity energy storage mechanism that uses locally available materials like sand and industrial waste as its payload. The company is expected to announce its inaugural commercial plant by the end of this year, with completion expected in 2025. The plant will have a 100 MWh capacity and offer a levelized cost of storage of around INR 2.5/kWh.
Gravity energy storage system that uses industrial waste as payload
Baud Resources, an IIT Kanpur incubated deep-tech startup, has developed a novel approach to gravity-based energy storage that operates on gravitational potential energy without the need for water, dams or hills, unlike the pumped hydro storage.
The mechanism can be implemented in any location (plains, desert or sub-zero climate). It uses locally available materials like sand and industrial waste such as coal-ash or construction waste as payload and relies on artificial inclinations of about 20-40 meters head height to lift sand from the lower station to the upper station and thereby store energy as potential energy. The energy is released when sand is lowered as and when needed.
Dishant Mishra, CEO at Baud Resources, tells pv magazine, "Our proprietary gravity-based storage design [using sand] allows for efficient energy storage and discharge. The mechanism is ideal for long-duration storage and offers cost-effective electricity and high round trip efficiency."
The startup''s upcoming commercial plant, to be announced this year, will have a 100 MWh capacity and will offer a levelized cost of storage of around INR 2.5 ($0.030)/kWh.
The system is based on a circular economy principle where it uses locally available sand (sourced from the site itself or nearby) and/or industrial waste like coal bottom ash from thermal power plants as payload. The height differential of 20-40 metres is achieved by excavation and reclamation at the site. Continuous mass flow ensures uniform load distribution, mitigating concentrated loading issues seen in block-based gravity storage designs.
Image: Baud Resources
The USP of the technology is its light and movable load transfer engineering which works between the two stations. It does require any permanent steel support structure to hang the payload. This gives Baud''s design an advantage to deliver massive size plants at much lower cost than other gravity candidates. Further, compared to pumped hydro storage, this gravity storage design allows co-location with existing solar and wind plants. It can be delivered at places with scarce water sources or sub-zero climates, where pumped hydro storage may not be a feasible or efficient option.
"With a goal of 500 GW renewable capacity by 2030, the demand for storage is set to rise. The energy storage market in India is projected to reach 350 GWh by 2030. Despite efforts in pumped hydro storage and battery energy storage, a 150 GWh deficit is expected by 2030. We aim to fill this gap with our gravity energy storage system, projecting 20-40 GWh capacity by 2030. We target early adopters with small-scale plants, subsequently scaling to 5-10 GWh projects for higher profitability. Our turnkey energy storage solutions target Indian renewable operators of large scale, with plans for expansion into the EU, US, and MENA markets," said Mishra.
Mishra said their gravity platform consumes less land than current on-ground solar installations on a per MW basis. "Co-location with solar further adds a different dimension, as gravity application can directly admit DC power for charging from the solar panels while returning AC to the power grid using dual drive motor generators, thus eliminating inverter and its losses. This translates to a higher round trip efficiency and lower capex for integrated renewable projects," he added.
Baud Resources successfully completed its field demo project at IIT Kanpur in November 2023. Following this achievement, it secured funding from Skoda Auto to support its ongoing and upcoming demo projects. "Looking ahead, we are poised to announce our inaugural commercial plant by the end of this calendar, with completion expected in 2025. Additionally, we are actively engaging with two prominent customers, to further strengthen our market presence," said Mishra.
UK-based Gravitricity will begin with pilot demonstration of its gravity energy storage systems in India as it eyes broader deployment in the long term.
Scottish energy storage specialist Gravitricity has embarked on a project to demonstrate the feasibility of its gravity energy storage technology for grid balancing in India as the nation has an increasing share of renewables in its power mix.
The company has secured £194,000 from the UK Government''s Ayrton Fund to find a demonstration site in India suitable for its gravity energy storage technology. The Ayrton Fund, part of the UK''s International Climate Finance commitment, aims to give developing countries access to the latest cutting-edge tech to help reduce their emissions and meet global climate change targets.
Gravitricity has developed a gravity-based energy storage system that works by raising heavy weights (totalling up to 12,000 tonnes) in a deep shaft and then releasing them when energy is required. In India, the firm has partnered with India energy specialist Panitek Power in the 12-month project to identify and shortlist sites for a demonstration scheme.
The gravity storage technology could be ideally suited to India, which aims to install over 500 GW of renewables by 2030, up from 100 GW in 2021, to supply its fast-growing economy.
Chris Yendell, project development manager at Gravitricity, said, "With the introduction of renewable energy generation at this scale, new flexible storage services will be essential to ensure the grid continues to operate in a stable manner. Gravitricity’s versatile technology is ideally placed to deliver the balancing services required to achieve this stability."
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