Gravity Energy Storage Tower GravityTower Grid-Connected in Inner Mongolia: Abandoned Mine Transforms into High-Altitude Energy Vault
Swiss energy company Energy Vault's GravityTower gravity energy storage system has been grid-connected in Ordos, Inner Mongolia. Using terrain elevation differences from an abandoned mine, it stores and releases energy by raising and lowering concrete blocks, with 200MWh storage capacity and 85% round-trip efficiency.
Full Article
Swiss energy storage company Energy Vault announced on May 10 that its GravityTower gravity energy storage system, built in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, has been officially grid-connected. The project utilizes the 350-meter elevation difference of an abandoned open-pit coal mine, using an AI-controlled crane system to raise and lower 35-ton concrete blocks to store and release electrical energy.
GravityTower has a storage capacity of 200MWh and maximum output of 50MW, with a round-trip efficiency (discharge-to-charge ratio) of 85%. During charging, excess renewable energy drives cranes to lift concrete blocks to height, storing gravitational potential energy. During discharging, blocks descend under gravity, driving generators to produce electricity.
Energy Vault CEO Robert Piconi said Ordos was chosen as GravityTower's first overseas project because of the region's abundant wind and solar resources and numerous abandoned mines. "These mines are no longer environmental liabilities but natural gravity storage infrastructure."
However, gravity storage has low energy density and requires large land areas, limiting applications in land-scarce regions. Energy Vault's next project is at an abandoned iron mine in Australia, with storage capacity expected to scale to 500MWh.
Disclaimer
Content is AI-generated. Do not use it as a basis for real decisions. Do not cite it as factual reporting.