Us gravity energy storage patent

Are gravity energy storage systems the future of energy storage?

Gravity energy storage systems, using weights lifted and lowered by electric winches to store energy, have great potential to deliver valuable energy storage services to enable this transformation.

How do gravity energy storage systems work?

The Gravitricity system Gravity energy storage systems depend on the principle of lifting one or more solid masses a vertical distance in order to increase their gravitational potential energy. The system must then be reversible to allow the lowering of the weight (s) to result in useful release of the stored energy, less any efficiency losses.

What is a gravity energy storage device?

In simple terms a gravity energy storage device uses an electric lifting system to raise one or more weights a vertical distance thereby transferring electrical energy to be stored as gravitational potential energy.

Does gravity have energy storage?

In addition to electrical energy storage, Gravitricity has also filed patents covering additional or combined uses in the shaft, including interseasonal heat storage and the use of the shaft internal volume as a pressure vessel for CAES or hydrogen storage.

What is a single weight gravitational energy storage system?

Single weight Gravitricity system The simplest design of an underground gravitational energy storage system is a single weight cycling in a straight vertical shaft from an upper to a lower position. As shown in Fig. 5.6, this single weight could be supported by a number of winches around the shaft head.

Can gravity storage increase energy storage capacity?

An adaptation of the Gravitricity storage system covered by the company's patents, and which will be explored for future developments of the technology, is to increase the energy storage capacity to be gained from a given shaft by using it as a pressure vessel as well as a vertical passage for a heavy weight.