The concrete blocks are slowly hoisted upwards by motors powered with electricity from the Swiss power grid. As each block descends, the motors that lift the blocks start spinning in reverse, generating electricity that courses through the thick cables running down the side of the crane and onto the power grid. In the 30 seconds during which the blocks are descending, each one generates about one megawatt of electricity: enough to power roughly 1,000 homes.
These can’t save much power and also they need crazy amounts of concrete. It’s a typical startup idea, not very useful.
Concrete is very cheap, not a problem to make this blocks, every dam or bridge need a lot more of concrete.
Concrete is very cheap, not a problem to make this blocks
Both statements are wrong. Water is cheaper than concrete and these blocks won’t work for a long time. Apart from that, Concrete is definitely not “green” by any means.
every dam or bridge need a lot more of concrete.
Yeah but every hydro energy dam can also store exponentially more energy than this abomination.
Both statements are wrong. Water is cheaper than concrete and these blocks won’t work for a long time. Apart from that, Concrete is definitely not “green” by any means.
Yes, but wiss less mass, ok, concrete isn’t so grren, but this is irrelevant in one construction for years, same in all constructs made with concrete, like the employed for hydro energy dams, which can only be used in places that allow the accumulation of hidro energy.
True that it can’t store the amount of energy like a hidro energy dam, but this is not intended to replace it, but rather an additional system that can be used, like others that exist, such as the aforementioned saline hor geothermic eat accumulators for places where a dam is not viable.
Yes, but wiss less mass
What do you mean by this? I bet you I can buy ten tons of water for way less money than ten tons of concrete, not only because you need lots of water to make concrete…
Apart from that, you need lots of dead weight just to hold the cranes in a stable position.
Did you read the article? The concrete block is supposed to be reused for a long period of time, that’s why the guy said it’s a long term return project.
Did you read the article?
Yes, did you? Did you also form your own opinion based solely on the article?
How long is the period of time? How long does it take for concrete to actually be affected by weather conditions?
Every crane need a lot of dead weight for a stable position, don’t see problems where are no exists. Concrete isn’t a sustance which contaminate, is cheap and disposable in any quantity as byproduct in any fundition of steel. They all have beside mounts of concrete.
Every crane need a lot of dead weight for a stable position, don’t see problems where are no exists.
Yes, but why build a crane when you can also build a water reservoir?
What will you do in a desert zone? It’s the best for solar energy but not for water
There is a youtube-video from 2 years ago, debunking that idea: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NIhCuzxNvv0
and heres another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGGOjD_OtAM
Adam Something <3
was hoping someone would link this here.
So many recent “inventions” are just bad versions of already existing inventions. E.g. the gravity energy storage is already perfected in the pumped storage hydro power station, the Hyperloop is way worse than regular trains and so on and so forth…
But that’s irrelevant. You just have to vaguely overpromise stuff to investors and then get a clean exit to cash out.
