Skyscrapers that work as gravity batteries
Energy Vault and SOM propose storing energy by raising and lowering weights inside towers.
What if the skyscrapers of the future stored electricity by lifting heavy blocks and dropping them when needed?
Storage company Energy Vault and architecture firm SOM announced a collaboration in May 2024 to integrate gravity storage systems into tall buildings.
The idea is simple: when there is surplus electricity, for example solar, a motor lifts heavy masses inside the structure; when energy is needed, the masses descend and the motor works as a generator. It is the same principle as pumped hydro plants, but with solid blocks.
The companies envision towers 300 to 1,000 meters tall that would combine ordinary uses with this battery function. For now it is a concept under study: no building of this kind has been built.
According to the May 30, 2024 announcement, SOM will be the exclusive architect and structural engineer for Energy Vault's new gravity storage systems. The design called EVu would use a hollow structure and could reach several gigawatt-hours of capacity to supply the building and its neighbors. Another design, EVc, would integrate pumped-water storage inside tall buildings. The companies claim these buildings would offset their construction carbon in 3 to 4 years.
Energy Vault is already developing its earlier platform, EVx, tested in Switzerland with 5 MW connected to the grid, with projects announced in China totaling 3.7 GWh, plus Egypt, Greece and southern Africa. The figures for the new designs come from the companies themselves.
Key facts
- Joint announcement by Energy Vault and SOM in May 2024.
- Proposed towers of 300 to 1,000 meters.
- Principle similar to pumped hydro.
- Project at the concept stage.
- The companies estimate construction carbon would be offset in 3-4 years.
It remains to be shown that the system is technically and economically viable in a real building.
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