{"id":14361,"date":"2024-02-05T16:15:43","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T16:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1403593"},"modified":"2024-02-05T16:15:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T16:15:43","slug":"scottish-startup-to-turn-finnish-mine-into-giant-gravity-battery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=14361","title":{"rendered":"Scottish startup to turn Finnish mine into giant gravity battery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Edinburgh-based startup<\/a> Gravitricity is set to turn one of Europe\u2019s deepest mines into the continent\u2019s first-ever gravity energy storage system.  <\/span><\/p>\n

The gravity tech uses massive weights that are hoisted up the mineshaft during times of surplus energy, and then released back down again during times of peak demand \u2014 driving a turbine and sending power to the grid. The system can release <\/span>large bursts of electricity quickly or release it more slowly depending on what\u2019s required.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gravitricity recently inked a deal to install its technology at a <\/span>1,444-metre-deep mine <\/span>in Pyh\u00e4j\u00e4rvi, a small town 450 kilometres north of Helsinki, Finland. The installation is part of a  local community initiative to transform the old mine into a state-of-the-art industrial park, hosting tech startups, solar farms, an underground 5G network, and a <\/span>pumped hydro plant<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Founded in 2011, Gravitricity has spent much of the last decade on R&D, fuelled by crowdfunding and a handful of small research grants. The Finnish mine project will be the company\u2019s first full-scale, grid-connected prototype. If successful, it could provide a springboard for larger projects capable of powering tens of thousands of homes.  <\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThis full-scale project will provide a pathway to other commercial projects and allow our solution to be embedded into mine decommissioning activities, offering a potential future for mines approaching the end of their original service life,\u201d <\/span>explained<\/span><\/a> Martin Wright, Gravitricity\u2019s executive chairman.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gravitricity isn\u2019t the only one harnessing gravity for energy storage. Swiss startup Energy Vault has secured a healthy $280mn in VC <\/span>funding<\/span><\/a> to develop its system, which comprises a huge building full of elevators that lift and lower massive <\/span>concrete blocks<\/span><\/a> depending on energy demand. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, while Energy Vault\u2019s system relies on massive infrastructure above ground, and has been heavily <\/span>criticised<\/span><\/a> for its potential carbon footprint as a result, Gravitricity takes advantage of the numerous old mine shafts already in existence. While there are obviously a limited number of abandoned mine shafts, they still represent an exciting opportunity to supplement larger-scale energy storage systems like pumped-hydro and lithium-ion batteries. <\/span><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not the only way to give dirty old mine shafts a new, cleaner lease on life. In Gateshead, UK, <\/span>thousands of homes<\/span><\/a> are being heated using geothermal warm water pumped up from old mine shafts. There have even been proposals to turn former mines into underground <\/span>food farms<\/span><\/a>.   <\/span><\/p>\n

While we\u2019re clearly still figuring out the best ways to utilise the thousands of kilometres of mine tunnels crisscrossing beneath our feet, Gravitricity could be a winning idea. One\u2019s things for sure, the success of the startup\u2019s Finnish pilot project will probably be decisive if it is to attract the investment it needs to scale.    <\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Edinburgh-based startup Gravitricity is set to turn one of Europe\u2019s deepest mines into the continent\u2019s first-ever gravity energy storage system.   The gravity tech uses massive weights that are hoisted up the mineshaft…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14361"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}