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Sometimes, as editors, you stumble upon news that raises an eyebrow. That one odd innovation, an unexpected effect of climate change or a feat of human clumsiness. Remarkable, in other words. This week: a skyscraper with gravity battery.
A 1,000-meter skyscraper that simultaneously serves as a mega-battery. With that promise, the architectural firm behind the Burj Khalifa in
Science fiction?
The word gravity battery has a tinge of science fiction about it. But the principle is quite down-to-earth. In a gravity battery, when there is a surplus of electricity, heavy weights are pulled up with pulleys. And just when power is needed, the weights sink back down. The energy released in the process can be used to generate electricity. An advantage of the technology is that energy can be stored for longer periods of time with little energy loss - which is often much more difficult with chemical batteries.
SOM and
Hydropower
The designers are also looking at the possibility of using water instead of weights. Water could be pumped to great heights, only to crash down like a waterfall. In fact, generating power with a hydropower plant at a dam works in a similar way: as water seeks the lowest point under the influence of gravity, it creates a powerful flow of water that drives turbines.
Mine shafts
Gravity batteries are not new: in
Future
As mentioned, the skyscrapers are still in a concept phase. There is no clarity on whether this concept will ever become a reality. Nor is there any mention of where the skyscraper is supposed to rise. But the illustrations place the towers in cities in desert-like landscapes. Perhaps that will attract the attention of ambitious oil sheiks.
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