27
This is just a modified version of the pump water up a hill and generate electricity when it falls back down. There is a lot of loss in a system like this.
Bit off loss is fine, esp if it's storing extra "free" renewable energy that would otherwise just be thrown away/not collected
I think article directly emphasizes the hope that it's sustainable, scalable, and available. For example, pumped hydroelectric isn't as available because it needs just the right terrain of two nearby lakes separated by as much elevation as possible
This method needs deep water, but the more possible ways to store energy the more environments that will be good.
Looks like you only recover about 70-80% of the electricity. Much less than a chemical battery, but it's also much cheaper to build.
Bonus tho: gravity doesn't degrade as much. And rocks don't contain a lot of dangerous chemicals
These aren't relying on gravity, theyre relying on maintaining a vacuum, and concrete is extremely porous. They're obviously sealing the inside of the chamber, but basically no coatings have a lifetime of 60 years for holding vacuum.
Oh you're right. That's on me for reading while tired.
It's definitely possible to build a structure like this. Even if these prototypes might not be perfect,, I like the idea.
this post was submitted on 13 May 2025
27 points (100.0% liked)
Science
13322 readers
2 users here now
Studies, research findings, and interesting tidbits from the ever-expanding scientific world.
Subcommunities on Beehaw:
Be sure to also check out these other Fediverse science communities:
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS