Solar energy is free and plentiful everywhere on the planet, the only problem is that it’s only available half of the day. In order to put solar energy to good use, we need an efficient way of storing it, however batteries are expensive, toxic, have limited life spans, they drain over time.

Using the principle of exploiting the force of gravity, it is in theory possible to store vast amounts of surplus energy, relatively cheap, environmentally friendly, maintenance free, totally safe and without disrupting landscape or taking up horizontal space.

The concept of exploiting the force of gravity has been around for centuries in the form of the pendulum clock, which stores the energy that a person puts into the system and then distributes it slowly over a long period of time.

There is a series of hollow vertical underground cylindrical tubes, each of them containing a heavy weight which hangs inside the tube attached to a high strength cable.

Above the ground, each wire is spooled up and attached to its own coil. The coils are mounted along a central support axis which carries all the weight. Inside the support axis, there are two transmission axis, one for the charger and one for the generator.

When energy is in surplus, the distributor routes it to the charger (an electric engine). The charger uses the electric energy it receives to spin its transmission axis, thus spinning all coils attached to that axis, and lifting their weights up to maximum height.

When a weight is at maximum height, its coil will automatically switch from the charger axis to the generator axis.

When energy is needed, the allocator switches off the break on the generator axis, thus causing the coils to unwind and spin the axis, powering the generator and creating electricity.

Obviously, as well, a gravity battery will work for any form of power generation including wind, wave and anything else.

Infographic and text via Gravity Battery Concept.
Video and top image via on YouTube.