The power of sand: Can solid gravity close the energy storage gap?

Hunt, J.D., Zakeri, B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9647-2878, Jurasz, J., Wada, Y. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4770-2539, Krey, V. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0307-3515, & Riahi, K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7193-3498 (2025). The power of sand: Can solid gravity close the energy storage gap? Journal of Energy Storage 125 e116839. 10.1016/j.est.2025.116839.

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Abstract

Transition to low-carbon energy systems primarily based on variable renewable energy, such as wind and solar, requires flexibility options, including energy storage. While batteries have dominated the market for short-term electricity storage, existing alternatives for long-duration energy storage are either site-specific, such as pumped hydropower storage (PHS), or lack the required supply infrastructure, such as green hydrogen and other synthetic fuels. We investigate the world's potential and project-specific cost of four emerging gravity energy storage technologies that are carbon-free and can be integrated into existing infrastructure: mountain gravity energy storage, electric truck gravity energy storage, underground energy storage, and lift energy storage technology. These electricity storage technologies can reach a levelized cost of (seasonal) energy storage as low as 94 USD MWh−1 and can store up to nearly 231 TWh of electricity globally (cf., the world's PHS total installed capacity is estimated to be 8.5–9 TWh today). Integrated gravity can play a role as long-duration energy storage in decarbonizing the energy sector and is a complementary solution to short-duration energy storage such as battery energy storage systems (BESS).

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