Energia renovável é armazenada com método inovador

Renewable Energy Is Stored Using Innovative Method

Written by Valdemar Medeiros

Published on 04/02/2020 at 09:48

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The Idea That Seems Trivial: Hoisting Concrete Blocks with Rope and Crane Using Renewable Energy and Then Lowering Them to Generate Electricity

Renewable energy is great in essence. But what to do when the sun doesn’t shine and there is no wind? The start-up company Energy VaultLink externo seems to have found an answer to one of today’s central questions. The difficulties of storing energy make nuclear energy and fossil fuels indispensable. This is the “Achilles’ heel” of renewable energy.

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Solar and wind energy play an important role in the energy strategies of many countries. These renewable sources aim to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, which emit CO2 and other polluting gases.

Moreover, it is necessary to find a substitute for nuclear energy due to its risks. However, the challenge is to store the produced energy and use it according to fluctuations in consumption during the day.

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Words from Robert Piconi, CEO of Energy Vault

“We started looking for a solution two years ago,” says Robert Piconi, CEO of Energy Vault. He explains that the company chose not to invest in already known technologies such as batteries for storing electricity. “They require the use of chemical or metal substances, like lithium. Thus, they have a serious impact on the environment,” notes Piconi. Furthermore, the efficiency of batteries decreases with usage over time.

Concrete Instead of Water for Renewable Energy

The solution found by the young company consists of a gigantic tower of concrete blocks, each weighing 35 tons. A specially integrated crane with six arms moves the pieces – which resemble Lego toys – from top to bottom using renewable energy.

During the downward movement, caused by gravitational force, the stored energy is converted back into electrical energy, almost with no loss of energy. A special software automatically controls the charging and discharging process in the tower. Factors like wind, which could potentially affect the blocks and the tower, are also taken into account.

Principle of Pumped Storage Hydropower Plants

Furthermore, the system resembles the principle of pumped storage hydropower plants, which take advantage of the elevation difference between two water basins. This is a technology used for many decades. Water is pumped to the higher level when there is excess energy and electricity rates are low. When consumption is high, the water is drained, and the electricity generated is sold at higher rates. This is the most popular form: 96% of the energy stored in the world occurs through this process.

Robert Piconi admits there is a weakness in the system: “These plants can only be built in countries that have plenty of water, mountains, and financial resources.” However, in many of them, there is strong opposition due to concerns about environmental conservation. Researchers from the young company found a solution: “Our battery tower can be built anywhere. The costs are much lower, and the energy efficiency is 80%, higher than in pumped storage plants,” emphasizes Piconi.

Renewable Energy Is Stored Using Innovative Method

The Idea That Seems Trivial: Hoisting Concrete Blocks with Rope and Crane Using Renewable Energy and Then Lowering Them to Generate Electricity

Also Read:

Words from Robert Piconi, CEO of Energy Vault

Concrete Instead of Water for Renewable Energy

Principle of Pumped Storage Hydropower Plants

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Renewable Energy Is Stored Using Innovative Method

The Idea That Seems Trivial: Hoisting Concrete Blocks with Rope and Crane Using Renewable Energy and Then Lowering Them to Generate Electricity

Also Read:

Words from Robert Piconi, CEO of Energy Vault

Concrete Instead of Water for Renewable Energy

Principle of Pumped Storage Hydropower Plants

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

A British company has installed in the middle of the ocean the world’s first floating platform that generates electricity 24 hours a day from the temperature difference between the surface and the depths of the Atlantic, without relying on wind or sun.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

The James Webb telescope spotted a planet 700 light-years from Earth with mornings full of sand clouds and nights with clear skies, the temperature difference between the two hemispheres reaches an impressive 170 degrees.

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Scientists drill 8,000 feet of ice in Antarctica and race against time before the hole freezes over again to bury the world’s deepest seismometers and turn the South Pole into a giant ear for earthquakes across the entire planet.

Rice in space becomes a scientific bet for China to understand how microgravity can alter the genetics of the most important grain for Asian food security and reveal if future generations of the plant can be born, grow, and maintain their biological identity away from Earth.

How much would a Toyota Hilux cost without tax in Brazil? A diesel pickup truck priced at R$ 250,000 could drop to around R$ 127,000, showing why pickup trucks have become a luxury product in the country.

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