{"id":4440,"date":"2018-02-07T10:15:08","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T10:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/?p=4440"},"modified":"2018-02-07T10:16:54","modified_gmt":"2018-02-07T10:16:54","slug":"disused-mine-shafts-to-become-green-energy-stores-of-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/disused-mine-shafts-to-become-green-energy-stores-of-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Disused mine shafts to become green energy stores of the future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former mining communities across the UK could find a new lease of life \u2013 with old mine shafts turned into hi-tech green energy stores.<\/p>\n<p>This is the plan of energy start-up <span class=\"highlight highlight-blue\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gravitricity.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gravitricity<\/a><\/span>, which has just received a \u00a3650,000 grant from Innovate UK, the UK Government\u2019s innovation agency, for their plan to harness the power of gravity to store renewable energy.<br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7565662001938327\" data-ad-slot=\"7585079586\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/>\nIn a case of \u2018what goes up, must come down\u2019, their technology uses a massive weight suspended in mine shafts to capture green power, and then release it in seconds.<\/p>\n<p>If Gravitricity\u2019s plan succeeds, their technology could breathe new life into former mining communities, and with it jobs and economic activity.<\/p>\n<p>The UK funds will enable them to start building a scale demonstrator later this year, and find a site to install a full-scale prototype by 2020.<\/p>\n<p>They are now on the look-out for investors, including those who can bring mining experience to the team, and suitable shafts to trial their technology.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4443\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4443\" style=\"width: 602px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/p1c5lva3dfjv15tfn8p1in81v9k5.002.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4443\" src=\"https:\/\/engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/p1c5lva3dfjv15tfn8p1in81v9k5.002.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"602\" height=\"401\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/p1c5lva3dfjv15tfn8p1in81v9k5.002.jpg 602w, https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/p1c5lva3dfjv15tfn8p1in81v9k5.002-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/p1c5lva3dfjv15tfn8p1in81v9k5.002-310x205.jpg 310w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 602px) 100vw, 602px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4443\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gravitricity managing director Charlie Blair<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And once they have proven the technology in old mines, they then plan to sink new shafts to store energy wherever it is required.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we rely more and more on renewable energy, there is an increasing need to find ways to store that energy \u2013 so we can produce quick bursts of power exactly when it is needed,\u201d explains company managing director Charlie Blair.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo far there is a lot of focus on batteries, but our idea is quite different.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGravitricity uses a heavy weight \u2013 up to 2000 tonnes \u2013 suspended in a deep shaft by cables attached to winches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen there is excess electricity, for example on a windy day, the weight is winched to the top of the shaft ready to generate power.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis weight can then be released when required \u2013 in less than a second \u2013 and the winches become generators, producing either a large burst of electricity quickly, or releasing it more slowly depending on what is needed,\u201d Blair explains.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a simple case of \u2018What goes up, must come down,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike batteries, the Gravitricity system can operate for decades without any degradation or reduction in performance, Blair states.<\/p>\n<p>Of course the idea of using gravity to store energy is not new. Britain already relies on a number of pumped storage hydro schemes, such as Ben Cruachan, where water is pumped uphill to be released when required.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe difference is we don\u2019t need a mountain with a loch or lake at the top, and we can react much faster,\u201d says Blair.<\/p>\n<p>He says the biggest single cost is the hole, and that is why the start-up is developing their technology utilising existing mine shafts, both in the UK and also in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>As the technology advances, the cost of drilling will reduce significantly and will allow them to sink purpose-built shafts wherever they are required, the company claims.<\/p>\n<p>The start-up plans to build models from 1 to 20MW, and estimates each \u2018Gravitricity Energy Storage System\u2019 will last up to 50 years.<\/p>\n<p>Later this year they will build and test a part-scale demonstrator, and they are currently short-listing a number of disused mine shafts for their first full-scale working prototype in 2019\/20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former mining communities across the UK could find a new lease of life \u2013 with old mine shafts turned into hi-tech green energy stores. This is the plan of energy start-up Gravitricity, which has just received a \u00a3650,000 grant from Innovate UK, the UK Government\u2019s innovation agency, for their plan to harness the power of &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[199,1],"tags":[2286,2285,2287,2284],"class_list":["post-4440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news-views-and-opinion","category-process","tag-gravitricity","tag-green-energy-stores","tag-innovate-uk","tag-mine-shafts"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Disused mine shafts to become green energy stores of the future - Engineer News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engineernewsnetwork.com\/blog\/disused-mine-shafts-to-become-green-energy-stores-of-the-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Disused mine shafts to become green energy stores of the future - Engineer News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former mining communities across the UK could find a new lease of life \u2013 with old mine shafts turned into hi-tech green energy stores. 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