{"id":37514,"date":"2023-10-02T10:39:42","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T05:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=37514"},"modified":"2025-04-22T23:03:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T17:33:33","slug":"gravity-battery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/gravity-battery\/","title":{"rendered":"Gravity battery: How gravity may solve green power\u2019s problem"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What is a Gravity Battery?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Development of Long-duration Energy Storage Systems<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Advantages of the \u2018EVx\u2019 Platform<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Gravity Batteries vs Lithium-ion Batteries<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>India\u2019s Renewable Energy Push and Challenges<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Developments in India in the Field of Gravity Battery Storage Systems<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>As countries step up renewable energy capacity addition, there is growing urgency to develop long-duration energy storage systems.<\/li>\n<li>Gravity batteries are emerging as the best bet in solving renewable energy\u2019s biggest problem &#8211; intermittency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is a Gravity Battery?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A gravity battery is a type of <strong>electricity storage device<\/strong> that stores gravitational energy, the energy stored in an object resulting from a change in height due to gravity, also called potential energy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A gravity battery works by using excess energy<\/strong> (usually from sustainable sources) to raise a mass to generate gravitational potential energy.\n<ul>\n<li>This is then lowered to convert potential energy into electricity through an electric generator.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The most common gravity battery is used in<strong> pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH)<\/strong>, where water is pumped to higher elevations to store energy and released through water turbines to generate electricity.<\/li>\n<li>Another form of a gravity battery<strong> lowers a mass,<\/strong> such as a block of concrete, to generate electricity.<\/li>\n<li><strong>As of 2019, the total world capacity for PSH is 168 GW (gigawatts)<\/strong>. The US has 23 GW capacity from PSH, accounting for nearly 2% of the energy supply system and 95% of utility-scale energy storage in the US.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gravity based pumped-storage electricity<\/strong> is currently the largest form of grid energy storage in the world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Development of Long-duration Energy Storage Systems:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>As countries step up renewable energy capacity addition, there is growing urgency to develop long-duration energy storage systems.\n<ul>\n<li>These systems could be installed alongside green power generation <strong>to balance out the variability in renewable power<\/strong>, given that green generation is not always in sync with the electricity demand cycle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Energy Vault <\/strong>(a Swiss company founded in 2017), a developer of utility-scale storage technology, is offering a proprietary gravity-based storage, to plug this gap.\n<ul>\n<li>Energy Vault\u2019s proprietary<strong> \u2018EVx\u2019 platform utilises gravity<\/strong> and a mechanical elevator system to stack 35-tonne blocks made of a composite material at the top of a towering structure.<\/li>\n<li><strong>When the electricity demand is low<\/strong>, the elevator uses surplus electricity from the grid or electricity generated by renewable plants, to raise these blocks and line them up at the top of the structure.<\/li>\n<li><strong>When electricity demand picks up<\/strong>, the blocks are then lowered one by one, releasing kinetic energy that is used to rotate a motor and generate electricity, which can then be pumped back to the grid.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Advantages of the \u2018EVx\u2019 Platform:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>This type of energy storage could be <strong>an innovative solution for countries<\/strong> (including India)<strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It can solve the biggest impediments to wider deployment of renewable generation &#8211; <strong>the ability for power companies to store energy for use by consumers when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>This could also <strong>facilitate the shift to a circular economy<\/strong> while ensuring clean energy transition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Gravity Batteries vs Lithium-ion Batteries:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Gravity batteries are not the only way renewable energy can be stored,<strong> lithium-ion batteries dominate the market and some experts favour green hydrogen<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>But <strong>gravity is free, clean and easily accessible<\/strong>, without the complications of producing hydrogen or the environmental and human rights concerns linked to some lithium mining.<\/li>\n<li>While lithium-ion batteries lose capacity after they have been charged and recharged over years, <strong>the gravity systems are made of robust components <\/strong>which will last much longer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>India\u2019s Renewable Energy Push and Challenges:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The country is the <strong>world\u2019s third largest producer of renewable energy<\/strong> and nearly 40% of installed electricity capacity comes from non-fossil fuel sources.<\/li>\n<li>This green push has resulted in<strong> a 24% reduction in emission intensity of GDP<\/strong> between 2005 and 2016, but it has also thrown up <strong>challenges of a grid being increasingly powered by renewables.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Also, grid managers are already grappling with the <strong>challenge of operationally sustaining a massive monthly addition<\/strong> of an average 1,000 megawatt from renewables to the electricity grid.<\/li>\n<li>Policy makers are of the view that New Delhi needs to e<strong>xpeditiously work on developing viable energy storage options<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>There are two alternatives<\/strong> being considered by the government for now: <strong>hydrogen and hybrid generation models <\/strong>blended with off-stream pumped storage.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"media\">\n<div data-oembed-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kuVjkL9XYVI\">\n<div><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kuVjkL9XYVI\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Developments in India in the Field of Gravity Battery Storage Systems:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>India\u2019s push for deployment of large-scale renewable power makes storage a prerequisite to support this expansion.<\/li>\n<li>Energy Vault is in the process of establishing a base in <strong>Bengaluru<\/strong>. It is in talks with <strong>NTPC Ltd <\/strong>(India\u2019s biggest generation utility), Mumbai-based Tata Power and green energy company ReNew Power for collaborations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>NTPC had signed an MoU<\/strong> last year for a long-term strategic partnership for the deployment of Energy Vault\u2019s EVx energy storage technology and software solutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q1) Why is India pushing for renewable energy resources?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>India aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2070, and renewable energy is key to achieving this goal. Solar energy accounts for a significant share of India&#8217;s renewable energy portfolio.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q2) What is floating photovoltaics (FPV)?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>FPV are solar panels mounted on a structure that floats on a body of water. The systems have advantages over PV on land as water surfaces may be less expensive than the cost of land, and there are fewer rules and regulations.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/storing-energy-in-blocks-how-gravity-may-solve-green-powers-problem-8964574\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Storing energy in blocks: How gravity may solve green power\u2019s problem<\/u><\/a><u> | <\/u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2022\/07\/gravity-batteries-store-renewable-energy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>WEF<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A gravity battery is a type of electricity storage device that stores gravitational energy, also called potential energy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":37515,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37514","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}