Lugano/Rudong – Energy Vault and partners have partially commissioned its first gravity-based energy storage system, EVx. It is expected to be fully connected to the local power grid of Rudong near Shanghai in the fourth quarter of this year.
Energy Vault and its partners Atlas Renewable Energy and China Tianying announced that the world’s first gravity-based EVx energy storage system has completed the initial phases of commissioning. The modular and scalable system is located outside Shanghai in the Chinese city of Rudong near a wind farm and a national grid interconnection. With its capacity of 25 megawatts, the jack-up storage power plant is intended to balance the supply and demand of renewable energies there. According to Energy Vault, it will be “one of the largest long-term energy storage systems in the world.”
Based on Energy Vault’s first 5-megawatt EV1 tower installed in 2020 in Arbedo-Castione TI, which is more than 75 percent efficient, the new EVx system with its improvements is expected to reach more than 80 percent efficiency. This, according to the media release, makes the new gravity system a leader in efficiency compared to all other energy storage processes and systems.
The pace of the team and its qualities in development are exceptional, Robert Piconi, chairman and CEO of Energy Vault, is quoted as saying. “Although this is a significant milestone, our work in China is just beginning.” With this, he also refers to the construction of an additional gravity-based energy storage facility with a capacity of 100 megawatt hours.
In addition, China’s National Energy Administration released a comprehensive list of major energy projects for 2023 on July 26. In it, Energy Vault’s gravity-based EVx energy storage solution was reportedly highlighted. ce/mm
