Two firms, Energy Vault, and Carbosulcis, have announced a collaboration to build a 100-megawatt hybrid gravity energy storage project to accelerate the carbon-free technology hub at Italy’s largest former coal mining site in Sardinia.
Energy Vault is a player in the sustainable grid-scale energy storage solutions, while Carbosulcis is a coal mining company owned by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia.
The collaboration is to develop a 100MW Hybrid Gravity Energy Storage System, a solution designed by Energy Vault for underground mines, pairing their modular gravity storage and batteries.
According to a press release by Energy Vault, the energy storage solution will be deployed 1640 feet (500 meters) deep mine shafts.
The storage unit will be developed with the use of VaultOS proprietary energy management software.
Energy Vault’s hybrid gravity energy storage solution
According to the press release by Energy Vault, the project is essential for the Sardinia government’s targeted conversion of the coal mine to a carbon free technology hub.
The availability of low or zero emission energy will be a boost for the existing companies and also attract new ones which are interested in technological activities.
According to the company , the energy storage solution leverages Energy Vault EV0 gravity technology through a new water-based, modular pumped hydro application.
The system combines pumped hydro energy storage technology with Energy Vault’s gravity energy storage technology, allowing the partners to repurpose the unique underground features of the site as a retired coal mine.
The solution’s design will be optimized to fully benefit from the mine shaft’s area and location, especially the 1640 feet depth at which it is planned to be constructed.
A land lease agreement has been executed, and the installation of the first modular gravity components is set to commence in September 2024 with the testing of the underground component of the Hybrid Energy Storage System expected to be completed in 2025.
Aims and goals from the Sardinia site
Carbosulcis’ Nuraxi Figus site, located on the island of Sardinia in Italy, is currently set to be retired by the end of 2026.
The Sardinia Regional Government aims to convert the site into a Technology Hub with a minimum environmental impact – which will help the industrial and economic reconversion of an area heavily affected by the exit from coal production.
Moreover, the Hybrid Energy Storage System will help to stabilize the island’s power grid, with plans to dispatch renewable energy to help meet the high demand during peak load hours while encouraging further local use of renewable generation in Sardinia.
The site will be completely owned and operated by Energy Vault, according to the press release.
“We are very excited about the innovative energy storage combined solution proposed by Energy Vault, including underground gravity energy storage technology, that we are testing together and that can become one of the solutions to support our project to convert our mine into a new Technology Hub,” said Francesco Lippi, Chief Executive Officer (Amministratore Unico), Carbosulcis.
“This project will maximize the local use of renewable energy, and at the same time provide services that will improve the stability of the power grid in Sardinia,” said Francesco Lippi, Chief Executive Officer (Amministratore Unico), Carbosulcis.”
“We believe that this exciting application of our energy storage solutions, including a new use for our gravity energy storage technology – deploying it underground – could hold vast potential for future applications,” said Marco Terruzin, Chief Commercial and Product Officer, Energy Vault.
This will be the second deployment of a hybrid energy storage system by Energy Vault after the Calistoga PG&E project in northern California, the largest green microgrid in the world, which pairs green hydrogen with lithium-ion batteries.
Most Popular
Comments / 0