3,000-foot-tall battery could soon become next tallest building in the world

There are more tall skyscrapers than ever before, and it’s fascinating to think that even the tallest building in the world could eventually serve a new purpose: storing renewable energy. One of the many major barriers to a clean energy-dominated electricity grid is the intermittent nature of some renewable resources. When solar energy is required, clouds may form, or the wind may cease to blow, rendering turbines incapable of producing electricity. Other times, the sun and wind generate more electricity than is needed.
Storage is critical in balancing generation and consumption. To improve capacity, a variety of technologies will likely be required, ranging from various types of batteries to alternative energy storage methods.

Grid-Scale Storage

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the architecture and engineering firm responsible for some of the world's tallest buildings, announced a collaboration with Energy Vault to develop novel gravity energy storage systems in late May.

This features a skyscraper design that uses a grid-powered motor to elevate large blocks when energy demand is low. These blocks would store electricity as "potential" energy. When there is a demand, the blocks are lowered to release the energy, which is then transformed into electricity.

SOM specialises in tall buildings. It created New York's One World Trade Centre, Chicago's Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower), and the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands more than 828 meters (2,700 feet) tall.

"Here’s an opportunity to take this expertise … and use it for energy storage, enabling us to wean ourselves fossil fuels," Bill Baker, a consultant partner at SOM and structural engineer for the Burj Khalifa, told CNN.

According to the International Energy Association, if the world wants to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, grid-scale storage, or systems connected to the power grid that can store energy and deliver it as needed, must be expanded.

Lithium-ion batteries, which are widely used in electric vehicles, cannot fix the problem on their own. For starters, they lack the ability to store energy for extended periods of time.

Pumped storage hydropower, which is currently widely utilised to store renewable energy, may accomplish this. During off-peak hours, a turbine pumps water from a lower-level reservoir to one on higher ground. When demand increases, the water is freed to pass through an electricity-generating turbine. However, it requires hilly terrain and a large amount of land.

SOM and Energy Vault's superstructure tower, which might be 300 to 1,000 meters (985 to 3,300 feet) tall, would contain hollowed-out structures mimicking lift shafts to move the blocks, providing area for residential and commercial tenants. (The companies are also considering incorporating pumped storage hydropower inside skyscrapers, utilising water instead of blocks).

Robert Piconi, CEO of Energy Vault, told CNN that multi-gigawatt-hours of energy might eventually be stored, enough to power many buildings. "If you're going high in a superstructure anyway, we're just piggybacking on that," Piconi stated.

SOM and Energy Vault are now looking for development partners to make their designs a reality. SOM's reputation in the tall building industry "will help address the challenge of getting the first one built," added Piconi.

Viability of Skyscraper Batteries

Two energy storage specialists contacted by CNN questioned the economic viability of a skyscraper battery, considering the amount of area required for energy storage and the structural adjustments required to sustain the additional weight.

But Energy Vault and SOM are sure that their solutions are financially feasible.
Energy Vault has previously completed a project in China that they claim is the world's first commercial-scale, non-pumped hydro gravitational energy storage device. The 150-meter-tall (492-foot) skyscraper, which has a storage capacity of 100 megawatt hours, was designed specifically for energy storage and does not have any tenant space.

Enabling the use of renewable energy would help to reduce the carbon impact of supertall buildings. Today, the building and construction sector accounts for over 40% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. There is effort being done to remedy this, such as improving building insulation and using less carbon-intensive materials like timber.

However, buildings are becoming taller and more frequent, at least in part to fulfil demand from rising urbanisation, which has driven people into cities, where limited space can mean that the best option to build is upward.

Between 1900 and 1999, 235 structures taller than 200 meters (656 feet) were completed around the world, according to Daniel Safarik of the Council on Tall structures and Urban Habitat. Last year, 179 structures of this height or higher were constructed.

In terms of gravity-energy storage systems, the taller the better. A tall gravity energy storage structure can offset its carbon footprint in construction and materials within two to four years.

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