Energy Vault

Switzerland-based Energy Vault specializes in gravity and kinetic energy-based long-duration energy storage technology to manage the intermittent supply of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Energy Vault has also launched Energy Vault Solutions (EVS) which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize energy storage assets for dispatch. 

Energy Vault’s technology was inspired by pumped hydro plants that rely on gravity and the movement of water to generate power. Energy Vault’s solution utilizes the same fundamentals of gravity and kinetic energy as a pumped hydro system but replaces the water with custom-made composite blocks that weigh around 35 tons. These blocks are lifted to a higher elevation using electricity generated from solar and wind during times of abundant supply. Later, when the supply of renewable energy is low, these elevated blocks are returned to the ground and the kinetic energy generated from the falling brick is turned back into electricity. Energy Vault’s technology allows a storage capacity of 22-80 megawatt-hours (MWh) and 4-8 MWh of continuous power discharge for 18 to 16 hours. 

Key customers and partnerships

In October 2021, Energy Vault commercialized its technology with DG Fuels, a pioneer in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and diesel fuel. Energy Vault will supply 1.6 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy storage to support DG Fuels’ sustainable aviation fuel projects in Louisiana, British Columbia and Ohio. The company also operates a commercial demonstration unit (CDU) in Switzerland connected to the Swiss national utility grid. 

In April 2022, the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian power generation utility National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to deploy energy storage technology in India. Energy Vault has also entered into partnerships with BHP and Korea Zinc to expand in Australia. In August 2022, Energy Vault signed two contracts with Jupiter Power to support development of two battery energy storage projects for Juniper. In August 2023 , the company signed a master supply agreement with KORE Power, where the latter will begin supplying batteries from 2025. Energy Vault intended to use this supply of batteries to meet the commitments it has made with clients to provide storage capacity in the US.

In January 2024 , Energy Vault signed a licensing and royalty agreement with Gravity Energy Storage Solutions, to deploy its gravity energy storage systems and VaultOS energy management system in Southern Africa. In April 2024 , Energy Vault partnered with NV Energy to begin commercial operations of the 220 MW Reid Gardner Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Moapa, Nevada.

Funding and financials

In February 2022, Energy Vault was listed on NYSE , through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The company received USD 235 million from the transaction. During the same month, the company received an investment of USD 100 million from Atlas Renewable. In January 2022 the company received a strategic investment of USD 50 million from Korea Zinc, a South Korean metal smelting company.  The proceeds will be utilized to deploy an energy storage system at Sun Metals, Korea Zinc’s zinc refinery in Queensland by mid-2022.