One of the deepest metal mines in Europe – the Pyhäsalmi Mine in central Finland – is to be turn into an tremendous gravitation stamp battery capable of hive away 2 megawatt of energy .
As the major planet go towards renewable energy , we are front with the trouble of repositing . The job is that the wind does n’t vaunt and the Dominicus does n’t beam at on the button the time when mass desire to consume their baron . On particularly long-winded or sunny days , too much electrical energy can be render , precede to a situation where consumer arepaid to consume electricityrather than overload the grid . But tycoon that is n’t usedbecomes lost .
It would be better , of course , if we could stash away that vitality by for late use . gravitation battery are one agency of doing that .
Despite the cool name , the idea behindgravity batteriesis really unsubdivided . During time when energy sources are producing more energy than the demand , the redundant energy is used to move weights ( in the form of water or sometimes sandpaper ) upwards , turning it into potential DOE . When the power supply is low , these physical object can then be publish , powering turbines as our good friend ( and virulent enemy ) gravity sends them towards the Earth .
Though generally gravitational force stamp battery take the form of reservoirs , abandon minesmoving sand or other weights up when surplus power is being produced have also been suggested . Scots company Gravitricity created a organisation of winch and hoist that can be installed in such obsolete mineshaft . The company will instal the arrangement in the1,400 - cadence - deep(4,600 feet ) Zn and Cu mine in Pyhäjärvi , Finland .
“ As the reality generates more electrical energy from intermittent renewable energy sources , there is a growing penury for engineering which can capture and stack away energy during menses of lowly demand and free it rapidly when required , ” Gravitricity Centennial State - founder Martin Wrightsaidof the technology late last twelvemonth .
“ Our GraviStore underground gravity DOE storage uses the force-out of gravity to declare oneself some of the best characteristics of Li - ion barrage and pump hydro entrepot – at low monetary value , and without the need for any rare earth metals . "
