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Energy Vault’s gravity-storage system stores electricity by using it to lift heavy blocks, then generates electricity as those blocks descend. The 24-ton blocks in the 2023 headline refer to a specific facility concept, not a consumer product. A later report said the Rudong, China project connected to the grid in December 2023 and had capacity of up to 100 MWh; that is a reported project milestone and rating, not a current measurement of energy delivered.
How lifting and lowering bricks stores electricity
The system converts electrical energy into gravitational potential energy. When electricity is available, motors and lifting equipment raise heavy blocks. When the grid needs electricity, the equipment lowers blocks in a controlled manner, and their motion drives generators. The process is broadly comparable to pumped-storage hydroelectricity, which stores energy by pumping water uphill, but Energy Vault’s described design uses solid weights rather than water. Enel Green Power’s explanation of gravity storage provides broader context on the concept.
The basic trade is straightforward: electricity is consumed during lifting and produced during lowering. The blocks are not a fuel, and the system is not generating energy from nothing; it shifts energy across time. The details that determine how much electricity is returned, how quickly it can be delivered, and what the system costs require project-specific measurements.
What the 24-ton figure and project reports tell us
Futurism reported on April 23, 2023 that the blocks in the facility it described weighed 24 metric tons each. A later account by the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan, editing Swiss.Tech, identified the China project as Rudong, near Shanghai. Its June 28, 2024 report said Rudong connected to the grid in December 2023, with a reported maximum storage capacity of 100 MWh and a power rating of 25 MW. It also gave the facility’s approximate height as 120 meters; that height is secondary reporting, not a primary engineering specification. Futurism’s 2023 account and the Swiss Chamber’s 2024 report describe different points in the project timeline.
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These figures describe different things. MW measures power—the rate at which a system can deliver or absorb energy. MWh measures energy capacity—the amount stored or delivered over time. A 25 MW rating does not mean 25 MWh of storage, and a reported 100 MWh capacity does not by itself establish actual output in operation. The reports provide project milestones and stated ratings, not independent measurements of present dispatch or performance.
How Rudong differs from the Snyder, Texas project
Energy Vault has also been associated with a separate project in Snyder, Texas. In a May 2024 announcement, Enel Green Power described that project as planned for 18 MW of power and 36 MWh of storage. The announcement establishes a plan, not that the project is operational. Enel Green Power’s announcement is the source for those planned figures.
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| Project | Reported power rating | Reported energy capacity | Status established by cited report |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rudong, China | 25 MW, reported by the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan in June 2024 | Up to 100 MWh, reported by the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan in June 2024 | Reported connected to the grid in December 2023; this does not establish current operating performance |
| Snyder, Texas | 18 MW, planned, according to Enel Green Power in May 2024 | 36 MWh, planned, according to Enel Green Power in May 2024 | Described as planned in the May 2024 announcement |
What the reports do not establish
The cited material explains the operating idea and reports project ratings and milestones, but it does not independently establish the Rudong facility’s round-trip efficiency, lifetime cost, long-term durability, current dispatch, or present operating status. Futurism’s 2023 story repeated an Energy Vault efficiency claim of at least 80%; that is a company claim reported by Futurism, not an independently verified measurement of this facility. Futurism’s article should be read with that distinction in mind.
Those missing measures matter when comparing storage technologies. A useful comparison needs the same evidence for each option: power, energy capacity, discharge duration, round-trip efficiency, siting and construction requirements, lifecycle cost, project status, and whether performance data are independently verified. The U.S. Department of Energy’s August 2024 report discusses long-duration storage technologies broadly; it is not an independent validation of Energy Vault’s facility. The Department of Energy report provides that wider context.
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Gravity storage is not one single design
Energy Vault’s block-based system should not be conflated with every technology that uses gravity. Gravitricity, for example, has worked on systems that raise and lower heavy weights in underground mine shafts using hoists. ABB announced a collaboration with Gravitricity focused on hoist technology and end-of-life mine shafts; it is a separate company and approach. ABB’s December 2023 announcement describes that collaboration.
Both designs use gravity as part of energy storage, but their structures, equipment, and site needs differ. Pumped hydro is different again because it moves water between elevations. For a grid operator, whether any of these approaches is useful depends on the specific project’s cost, duration, site, operating requirements, and demonstrated performance—not just the shared idea of lifting something and letting it descend.
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