---
title: "Here’s How to Store Wind and Solar Energy Using Just Gravity"
description: "Swiss startup Energy Vault wants to overcome the limitations of lithium-ion batteries by storing wind and solar energy by stacking massive brick towers."
date: "2020-02-14"
modified: "2020-02-14"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/startup-stores-green-wind-solar-energy-gravity"
categories:
  - "Energy"
  - "Renewable Energy"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Solar Power"
  - "Wind"
tags:
  - "green energy"
  - "solar energy"
  - "the digest"
  - "wind energy"
---

# Here’s How to Store Wind and Solar Energy Using Just Gravity

![Swiss startup Energy Vault wants to overcome the limitations of lithium-ion batteries by storing wind and solar energy by stacking massive brick towers.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/startups-store-green-energy-stacking-giant-blocks.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Energy Vault/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Clean Energy Storage

Swiss startup Energy Vault wants to overcome the limitations of lithium-ion batteries by storing green wind and solar energy by stacking massive towers made up of 35-ton bricks, [*The Wall Street Journal* reports](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-store-the-wind-and-sun-energy-startups-look-to-gravity-11581657948>).

In August, the startup locked down [$110 million](<https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/14/energy-vault-raises-110-million-from-softbank-vision-fund-as-energy-storage-grabs-headlines/>) from SoftBank's Vision Fund. The company already constructed a 400-foot demonstration tower and is planning to eventually build cranes up to 500 feet in height.

## Towers of Bricks

The concept relies on gravity alone.

A pre-programmed crane on top of a massive tower lifts and stacks colossal bricks on top of each using excess power from wind and solar plants. When demand exceeds electricity production, the crane reverses the process, recouping energy by unstacking the tower of bricks.

Just 20 cranes could provide enough power for 40,000 households over a 24 hour period, according to the *WSJ*.

## What Goes Up Must Come Down

Lithium-ion batteries rely on rare-Earth metals, the extraction of which is steeped in [environmental](<https://e360.yale.edu/features/boom_in_mining_rare_earths_poses_mounting_toxic_risks>) and [humanitarian](<https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/rare-earth-mining-china-social-environmental-costs>) problems, and tend to lose their capacity over time.

The concept is similar to "pumped hydro" systems, which use bodies of water instead of heavy bricks and a hill instead of a tower, and have been around for [at least a century](<https://e360.yale.edu/features/for_storing_electricity_utilities_are_turning_to_pumped_hydro>).

**READ MORE:**[ To Store the Wind and Sun, Energy Startups Look to Gravity](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-store-the-wind-and-sun-energy-startups-look-to-gravity-11581657948>) \[*The Wall Street Journal*\]

**More on the startup:** *[Giant Hanging Bricks Could Store Energy Better Than Batteries](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/giant-hanging-bricks-store-renewable-energy-battery-energy-vault>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)