Innovative Modular Gravity Energy Storage for Utility Scale Applications

Student: Rory Staunton, 2024-2025

Energy Vault develops and deploys utility-scale energy storage solutions designed to enable the global transition to a clean energy future. Variable renewable energy sources struggle to replace fossil fuel alternatives due to the intermittency of large-scale solar and wind projects. Hence, it is crucial to roll out a mechanism to store electricity in parallel with large-scale infrastructure to allow for seamless operation on a round-the-clock basis. Intensive energy consumers such as mining operations, data centers, and manufacturing facilities can benefit from modular and rapidly deployable energy storage solutions by reducing energy costs and transitioning to a reliable, clean energy source.

Pumped-hydro storage is the most common type of utility-scale energy storage, accounting for 95% of active storage installations worldwide. It is imperative for the adoption of solar and wind projects and enables resiliency and redundancy in energy generation systems. This capstone project will focus on investigating the potential of innovative, modular, and rapidly deployable pumped-hydro solutions for large-scale applications. This involves creating a technology, product, and cost roadmap for the system, along with a go-to-market strategy based on an extensive stakeholder interview process. Energy Vault has the potential to deliver a paradigm shift in the energy storage market, paving the way for a clean energy future. This project is an exciting opportunity to use a background in mechanical engineering to develop gravity energy storage systems in a rapidly growing global sector.