Aug 19 | 2021
New Systems Promise Breakbulk Prospects
As the energy transition reshapes the global power sector and drives record renewable investment, the need for load-balancing energy storage is driving new demand and creating opportunities for breakbulk operators.
Traditionally, the only feasible option for grid-scale energy storage in most markets was pumped-storage via dams or hydropower. However, a revolution in battery technology and design is allowing companies to develop modular systems that can be shipped as project cargo to the sites where they are needed most.
Critical Challenge
Firms such as Energy Vault and Gravitricity have introduced new designs utilizing weighted blocks to create responsive grid-ready systems. These can be co-located with renewable power production allowing storage of electricity onsite and reducing the need for transmission or grid load.
“Storage of renewable energy is a critical challenge to solve in order for wind and solar generation to replace fossil fuel sources and deliver dispatchable or baseload power,” Rob Piconi, CEO and co-founder of Energy Vault, told Breakbulk. “More than US$270 billion is expected to be invested in energy storage worldwide over the next 10 years, and the number is in the trillions by 2050 – in order to meet these demands, capacity will have to be increased by more than 10 times during the same time period.”
A key advantage of gravity-based system over other storage solutions, such as battery technology or hydrogen, is the sheer simplicity of design and construction. While exact blueprints of systems vary, they are all essentially built around a heavy weight, which can be raised or lowered to produce electricity.
Battery or hydrogen systems typically require fine-tuned chemical or electrical setup and are prone to degradation or losses over longer term. In contrast, the energy storage in gravity systems is long term, with the ability to reproduce electricity years or even decades later.
Recycled Materials
One key advantage of using simple blocks for energy storage is that a huge variety of unwanted materials, such as coal ash waste, can be redirected from landfills into the custom-made blocks.
Energy Vault’s system is one which uses utilizes custom-made composite blocks that can be raised or lowered to transfer between gravity and kinetic energy. By using low-cost materials and a simple construction design the system is not only cost-effective but can also be easily expanded to utility-scale at low initial capex.
“Energy Vault has taken a circular approach to build these systems, which uses local supply chains and materials, minimizing the need for transport and logistical costs. The storage blocks are built from recycled materials such as coal waste ash and have much less degradation over time which reduces maintenance costs,” PIconi said.
Headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, Energy Vault was founded in 2017 and in 2021 received investment of US$20 million from disruptive think tank firm Helena. The funding will help expand the use of recycled materials, with the potential to even use retired wind turbine blades, meaning that old components can continue their productive life storing energy from the newer turbines that have replaced them.
“It doesn’t get much more critical than radically improving energy storage. It is both a short-term solution to the problems we have seen recently in areas like Texas and a long-term necessity for the world to sustainably transition away from fossil fuels. We believe Energy Vault will play a fundamental role in furthering that transition,” said Henry Elkus, CEO of Helena.
Elkus explained that the firm’s investment will address the issue of remediating waste, noting that the Energy Vault’s “ability to use massive quantities of waste material” to construct its systems “makes the impact more real and the business case more viable” while also providing utilities a streamlined method to transition out of fossil fuel-based energy production and recycle legacy assets.
Growing Market
Edinburgh-based energy storage firm Gravitricity is developing a similar gravity system that allows for weight configurations totalling up to 12,000 tonnes to be raise and lowered in response grid demand.
“The advantage of our system is that we can provide a reconfigurable system at high energy or power output, depending on whether you want a high energy hit, or longer duration output, with a sub-second response, which makes the system particularly attractive for anyone looking to access the ancillary services markets in addition to arbitrage,” Ruth Apps, business development manager at Gravitricity told Breakbulk.
While their system is designed to be transported via container the remote location and bespoke nature of many renewable projects means that breakbulk expertise will likely be required for transport, installation and commissioning in many cases. The size of the potential market alo means that there are set to be significant demand as the technology takes-off. “We don’t have direct competitors per se,” Apps said. “But, there are many different types of energy storage which all fulfil particular niches. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates the global energy storage market to be worth US$640 billion by 2040.”
