Mechanical Batteries: The Future of Energy Storage? | FD Engineering

Mechanical Batteries: The Future of Energy Storage? | FD Engineering

An engineering revolution is underway. Driven by dedicated individuals who are building extraordinary machines that will change our lives.

All over the world, engineers and scientists are racing to solve one key problem; how to safely and efficiently store electricity at a huge scale but at a low cost. The quest is producing some truly remarkable ideas and this episode details three of them.
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#FreeDocumentary #Documentary #perpetual
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“Engineering: the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building and use of engines, machines and structures.” So says the Webster definition. Our newest Free Documentary family member Free Documentary - Engineering is all about engineering - and bringing our community the best documentaries on engineering.

[toro]

You mentioned that California had an energy crisis in 2020 but you didn't mention that the San Onofre Nuclear power plant was shut down and decommissioned prior to 2020 losing California 2.2 Gigawatts of power.

[ButtonBrand]

Honestly... The mecahnical tower lift prototype is childs play and could be calculated in a simulation on paper
in minutes.. This is a typical story of poor investors being hoodwinked by engineers that have very little expertise . Get a power elecrical engineer in the team ASAP or you will loose all your investments .

[bobmc]

Seems easier to just build a modern nuclear power plant, and or don't shut down present nukes and start up shut down nukes.

[rebeltuba]

The Rocky Mountain Hydroelectric Project was a 1+ gigawatt pumped storage project that was originally an experiment, but has been in use since 1995. It's co-owned by two Georgia electric power giants and has been efficient and effective for nearly 30 years.

[jimbraslow]

2019 our highschool student designed a battery free street light. She proposed a solar pannel would lift a weight during the day and at night the weight would lower powering the street light. Her team built a working model for their science project. They were all from very low income Hispanic community. Very smart and dedicated senior highschool students.

[NamelessFurry]

Didn't thunderf00t already debunk this? Like- we already got this kind of energy storage with water, a hill and some pumps 🤷

[ThoughtFrontier]

While mechanical batteries offer an intriguing alternative for energy storage, their practicality is limited by inefficiencies in energy conversion and the large physical infrastructure required. Additionally, compared to chemical batteries, mechanical systems often face challenges in scalability and maintenance, making them less feasible for widespread use in modern energy grids. We need to invest a lot more into this technology if we think its going to be viable.

[normyanke]

For example, a system based on gravitational energy storage requires a change in altitude of 360 m for a mass of 1 t to store 1 kWh. The average home uses 11, 000kWh annually. This would require lifting 1 ton 11, 000 x 360m= about 4 km. Possibly 100m towers? that would require 40 such towers and attendant maintenance, costs, etc. hardly practical.

[matthewl]

They have been using hydro electric batteries in the California sierras for 50 years~ I toured Wishon/Courtwright reservoir’s underground hydro power plant in the 80’s as a kid it’s worth a visit

[danielsmith]

The version that stacks blocks should reverse the process and make electricity while stacking so that it would stack them underground where the sides can be braced to eliminate the problem of falling over in an earthquake. It's the simplest of all the options in the video and going down with it would improve the appearance and safety.

[patrickmckowen]

I put in micropower trubines in my toilet tanks - every flush is enough to add .005 watts to a battery storage 😁

[gstutje]

In Tavascan, located west of Andorra in the Spanish Pyrenees, this type of system has been in operation since 1971. The planning began in the early 1950s, with construction starting officially in 1958 with building a larger bridge into the valley. The project was completed in 1974, with its official inauguration in the same year. This shows how long this concept has been around, and it’s exciting to see newer implementations like this one in Switzerland!

[David-ilhn]

Thermal storage using deep cavens. Allow water to fall down into cavens, get heated up from the earth's fire and then return as steam. Hydro turbines used on way down and steam turbine on way up. It may also be possible to harness the air pressure as the water fills the cavern forcing the air up a pipe.

[ronniepirtlejr]

I remember watching this same documentary two or three years ago.
I'd like to know if they finally finished the project?

[D-Khaz]

Anti swing and anti sway functions have been pretty standard on VFDs for 20+ years, so no sure what kind of spin Robert piconi from energy vault was on about

[SpiritmanProductions]

For the fluctuating power output of the gravity tower, couldn't they use banks of super-capacitors to even it out?

[jeremyensley]

Looks very complex. Maybe building train tracks up a steep mountain would be more reliable.

[gregbailey]

Sorry, but this session is so puerile, I reckon it's on a par with a ten year old's social studies project.
It contains so many silly errors, particularly errors of omission, and out of date info that it's almost comical.
It's basically an ad for Switzerland.
The deprecation of battery storage is ridiculous. Electro-chemical batteries can respond in milliseconds!

[carlos-dttz]

You didn’t mention that apart from large amounts of electricity quickly and smoothly it also has to synchronised to the grid as well. A small but very significant technical issue all generating plant need to contend with. As the number of small gravity storage systems increase thus will also make it harder for grid operators to control how and where they can be utilised. There more to just building and embedding lots if small gravity systems in our towns and cities. This video whilst good doesn’t address these issues . That why a small number if large generating plant is better.

[yghkybn]

We haven’t even begun to scratch the surface with the potential (pun intended) of pumped hydro. It’s one of the most undervalued approaches with virtually the greatest potential. There are so many ways to solve the “issues” with it that simply aren’t being considered, and the places it can be used are far more diverse than virtually anyone seems to realize.

Along with that, I would say something simple like CAES using old mines as pressure vessels would be able to handle short term demand much better than any of the other mechanical systems discussed here - the efficiency is reduced, but that isn’t as important for short term use. Chemical batteries can also fill that role - but they are a bad approach for primary energy storage (too expensive and too energetic/dangerous).