I imagine low energy density doesn’t really matter in this use case, and using recycled concrete has to be incredibly cheap compared to producing efficient batteries.
yeah if you’ve got the space, energy density isn’t so important. I’m sure the recycled concrete is used in the blocks that are lifted and those are surely cheap, but there’s also a lot of structural steel/concrete in the building itself (you need a legit structure to hold up all that mass) and there are also the cranes and associated moving parts to consider. the heavy ballast is probably the cheapest part of the whole thing.
I imagine low energy density doesn’t really matter in this use case, and using recycled concrete has to be incredibly cheap compared to producing efficient batteries.
yeah if you’ve got the space, energy density isn’t so important. I’m sure the recycled concrete is used in the blocks that are lifted and those are surely cheap, but there’s also a lot of structural steel/concrete in the building itself (you need a legit structure to hold up all that mass) and there are also the cranes and associated moving parts to consider. the heavy ballast is probably the cheapest part of the whole thing.
Sure, but I’m sure amortizing that over 35 year lifetime comes out to peanuts, especially given how ironed out construction in China is.