Energy Vault, along with its partners Atlas Renewable and China Tianying, announced that what it’s calling the world’s first grid-scale gravity energy storage system (GESS) has entered the first phases of commissioning.

Located outside of Shanghai in Rudong, Jiangsu Province, China, the 25 MW/100 MWh GESS is built adjacent to a wind farm and a national grid interconnection site to augment and balance China’s national energy grid through the storage and delivery of renewable energy.

Commissioning began in June on the power electronics and new “ribbon” lifting systems. The system is expected to be fully grid interconnected in Q4 as planned with local state grid authorities, making EVx the world’s first commercial, utility-scale non-pumped hydro gravity energy storage system. Building on the round trip efficiency (RTE) results (above 75%) of the first 5 MW EV1 Tower that was grid interconnected in Switzerland in mid-2020, the new EVx system with its efficiency chain design enhancements is expected to have RTE above 80%, Energy Vault said.

Highlighting the market adoption of Energy Vault’s gravity technology, China Tianying’s subsidiary, Jiangsu Nengying New Energy Technology Development Co., Ltd., announced last week that it has entered into an agreement with the People’s Government of Huailai County to build an additional 100 MWh gravity energy storage project in Huailai County, Hebei Province, China. The project, to be located in Cunrui Town, will provide green electricity to data centers in the region.