Energy Vault, a Swiss long-duration energy storage startup, has secured a new investment from Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures for an undisclosed amount.

Energy Vault will use the proceeds to accelerate the global deployment of its Energy Storage technology including a deployment within Saudi Aramco. 

Founded in 2017, Energy Vault’s technology utilizes the same fundamentals of gravity and kinetic energy as a pumped hydro system but replaces the water with custom-made composite blocks. 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 has yet to commercialize its technology. The company operates a commercial demonstration unit in Switzerland connected to the Swiss national utility grid since July 2020.