Is Energy Vault on the right track?

A startup called Energy Vault is working on a unique storage method, and they must be on the right track, because they just received over $100 million in Series C funding last week. The method was inspired by pumped hydro, which has been around since the 1920s and uses surplus generating capacity to pump water up into a reservoir.

Does Energy Vault have a problem?

Renewable energy is billed as a clean source of power that will free civilization from the dirty, CO 2 -generating fossil fuels that drive climate change. But it has a problem. From left to right, Energy Vault’s tower fully “charged,” at partial levels of charge, and with its capacity fully expended. Source: Energy Vault

How efficient is Energy Vault?

The ramp rate for Energy Vault’s gravity storage solution is as little as one millisecond, and the storage system can go from zero to 100% power in no more than 2.9 seconds. Furthermore, the system has round-trip power efficiency, i.e. zero to full power to zero, of 90% efficiency, meaning only 10% energy loss.

Where did Energy Vault test its technology?

Energy Vault tested its technology at a smaller scale in Switzerland, where the 170-person company is headquartered. Its two EVx systems under construction are much bigger.

What is Energy Vault's EVX technology?

The technology is best suited for long-duration storage with very fast response times. The Series C funding was led by Prime Movers Lab, with existing investors SoftBank and Saudi Aramco adding additional funds and several new investors joining. Energy Vault plans to use the funding to roll out its EVx platform, launched in April of this year.

Why is Energy Vault so expensive?

One of the reasons for this is the cost of battery materials, which is much higher than the cost of concrete provided to Energy Vault by Mexican company Cemex. Another important innovation is the incredibly short ramp rates. A ramp rate is the time taken for a plant’s power output to ramp up or down.