Energy Vault is a Switzerland-based company that develops long-duration energy storage systems. The company's core technology is a kinetic storage system that uses gravity to store and generate electricity.

This system involves lifting blocks and stacking them at a height, then utilizing their gravitational potential energy as they fall to drive a generator.

The company claims this system achieves a 40% lower Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS) than electrochemical competitors, with an 85% roundtrip efficiency and a 30-year lifetime without degradation

Energy Vault's standard systems feature a 150-meter high tower and up to 7,000 blocks, with storage of 35 MWh and a power rating of 4 or 8 MW. The system can ramp up to its 4 MW power output in 2.9 seconds, with capacities ranging from 20 to 80 MWh, and a smaller modular 1 MWh version is also under development.

In 2020, it received a $110 million investment from SoftBank and completed a demonstration project, providing real-world performance data.

After changing its business model and starting to work as a Li-ion BESS integrator in 2022, was able to commercialize their first mechanical energy storage project in China (of no less than 25MW/100MWh), a huge achievement for gravity-based technologies.

They have deployed 915 MWh of energy storage since 2023 (BESS + Gravity-based). Additionally, Energy Vault has expanded its reach, partnering with Gridmatic for a 57MW/114MWh BESS project in Texas called Cross Trails, with construction beginning in Q1 2025, and commercial operations expected in the summer

Energy Vault's business model is centered around providing a range of energy storage solutions, encompassing short, long, and ultra-long durations, and is supported by software and service offerings.

Energy Vault's technology is unique due to its combination of diverse energy storage solutions, its approach to integrating these technologies with software, and its focus on a customer-centric, adaptable approach. Key innovations and differentiators include:

• Diverse Technology Portfolio: Energy Vault is the only energy storage company that offers solutions encompassing short, long, and ultra-long duration needs using proprietary battery, gravity, and hybrid-hydrogen technologies. This allows them to address a wide range of customer requirements, unlike companies focused on a single technology.

• Gravity-Based Energy Storage: Their G-VAULT™ system is a unique kinetic storage system that utilizes the principles of gravity to store and generate electricity. This system involves lifting composite blocks and stacking them at a height, then utilizing their gravitational potential energy as they fall to drive a generator. The system claims to achieve a high round-trip efficiency of over 80%. This method decouples power and energy while maintaining efficiency without the need for specific topography.

  • No Capacity Degradation: The gravity-based storage utilizes a mobile mass composite block storage medium that does not degrade over time, unlike chemical storage. This eliminates the need for augmentation.
  • Material Sourcing and Supply Chain: The system integrates local site materials for composite block construction and relies on standard industrial system components from predictable regional supply chains.

• Hybrid Energy Storage Systems (HESS): For ultra-long duration needs, Energy Vault employs HESS, combining multiple technologies such as hydrogen, fuel cells, and batteries. This allows them to leverage the relative strengths of different technologies, and can meet the needs of communities and businesses requiring continuous power and protection against grid vulnerabilities. Their H-VAULT™ system is designed for multi-day resilience and supports critical infrastructure.

• Modular Design: Energy Vault's products, such as EVx™, are designed to be modular. The B-Nest™ is a modular, multi-story structure designed to house battery energy storage systems (BESS) for unparalleled energy density. This allows for flexibility and scalability in project development.

• Technology-Agnostic Software: Energy Vault's software suite, including VaultOS™, Vault-Bidder™, and Vault-Manager™, is designed to be technology-agnostic. This allows customers to manage and optimize various energy storage and generation assets through a single platform. The software provides real-time monitoring, operational control, and optimized dispatch. Vault-Bidder™ optimizes dispatch and revenue, while Vault-Manager™ provides portfolio visibility and analysis to improve financial performance.

• Customer-Centric Solutions: Energy Vault emphasizes a customer-centric approach, working closely with customers to identify, develop, and deploy tailored solutions. Their solutions-based approach means they start with the problem to be solved, then bring together the right products to solve it. They offer customized configurations and flexible service agreements to ensure performance and availability over the asset's lifecycle.

• Use of Recycled Materials: Energy Vault intends to use recycled materials for their composite blocks, reducing costs, and potentially creating an additional revenue stream.

Energy Vault's energy storage solutions address several key challenges in the renewable energy industry by providing various energy storage durations using multiple technologies. Their products are designed to manage renewable energy variability, balance supply and demand, and respond to outages. Specifically, their solutions can be applied to:

• Short duration energy storage (up to 4 hours): These solutions, like the B-VAULT™ lithium-ion battery storage, are aimed at balancing supply and demand and managing the variability of renewable energy sources. They also help respond to outages. The B-Nest™ is a modular, multi-story structure designed to house battery energy storage systems for greater energy density.
• Long-duration energy storage (4 to 24 hours): Energy Vault's gravity-based solutions, such as G-VAULT™, are designed for bulk energy shifting and can store energy for 4-24 hours, which is particularly useful as variable renewable energy increases its share of the generation mix. These systems use composite blocks and cranes, lifting and stacking blocks to store energy, and lowering them to generate electricity, and are designed for high round-trip efficiency. The EVx™ product is a modular long duration storage product.
• Ultra-long duration energy storage (12 to 96+ hours): These solutions, like H-VAULT™, are designed for communities and businesses requiring continuous power and protection against grid vulnerabilities. These systems often combine multiple technologies in a Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS), utilizing hydrogen fuel cells, batteries and other technologies to offer multi-day resilience.

Beyond hardware, Energy Vault also offers a suite of software solutions: VaultOS™ for real-time monitoring and control, Vault-Bidder™ for dispatch and revenue optimization, and Vault-Manager™ for asset management. These software solutions help customers manage and optimize their energy storage and generation assets. Overall, Energy Vault seeks to address the need for flexible, scalable, and reliable energy storage solutions across various durations, enabling the increased deployment of renewable energy.