Performance Evaluation of Electrical Energy Storage Systems Focused on Gravity Storage Technology

The energy mix of electricity generation has changed dramatically in the last two decades mainly due to the large penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) and decentralized electricity production and these changes pose new challenges to the modern power grids. Significant amounts of energy must be shifted from day to night hours while the quality and the reliability of the power generated must be regulated. Electric energy storage systems (EESS) will have a key role in meeting these challenges. This paper presents how the existing and proposed systems of a novel concept of electric energy storage based on gravity could meet these growing challenges by being economically sustainable, resilient, and with negligible environmental impact. Also, it compares and evaluates the technical characteristics, the Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS), and the investment capital of these systems with other EES technologies.