Gravity energy storage is the simplest form of energy storage, using potential energy caused by gravity as the source of energy storage; When there is excess electricity, the drive motor lifts the heavy object to a high place, and when electricity is needed, the force of the heavy object's descent is used to drive the generator to generate electricity.

The compressed air energy storage power plant is essentially a gas turbine power plant used for peak shaving. Its important principle is to use the remaining electricity during the underestimation period of the power system load for compressed air operation, and store it in a high-pressure sealed facility, which is released during peak load periods to drive gas turbine power generation.

Hydrogen and lithium-ion batteries are both hot technologies in energy storage technology. Hydrogen energy storage can be seen as an extension of chemical energy storage, with the basic principle of electrolyzing water to obtain hydrogen and oxygen. Due to its high energy density, low operating and maintenance costs, long-term storage, and pollution-free process, hydrogen storage has a huge storage capacity, and is also suitable for extremely short or long term power supply. Its application prospects are very promising, but its development stage is still in the early stage of demonstration.

Will gravity energy storage, compressed air energy storage, and hydrogen energy storage penetrate the lithium-ion battery market?

Under various tax incentives and lower cost incentives, renewable energy generation has shifted its focus to energy storage to ensure more reliable services for unstable wind and solar supply. Lithium ion batteries currently dominate, but in terms of scale, their economic efficiency is not sufficient to fully support the quantity of renewable energy entering the grid. Therefore, there must be other options, mainly gravity energy storage and hydrogen energy storage for large-scale applications.

Renewable energy is an important development direction for human society. The consumption of renewable energy is one of the key technologies that constrain the development of renewable energy. Due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources such as hydropower, wind energy, and solar energy, they cannot continuously and stably output electrical energy for a long time, resulting in a large amount of wind and light abandonment. Energy storage technology can store renewable energy generation and release it when needed to ensure sustained and stable electricity output from renewable energy generation, and improve the ability of the power grid to accept intermittent renewable energy.

Gravity systems are one of the latest entrants to the energy storage market. The system consists of a two to six arm crane installed on a lattice steel tower between 90 and 140 meters high, which can respond to fluctuations in power demand or other support required by grid operators within a few milliseconds. Similar to pumped storage, the system can also provide long-term energy storage. This system enables renewable energy to supply basic loads 24 hours a day, and the cost of electricity is lower than that of fossil fuels.

Compressed air energy storage compresses and coexists air in the gas storage chamber during low electricity consumption periods, converting electrical energy into internal energy for storage. During peak electricity consumption periods, high-pressure air is released from the gas storage chamber to drive a turbine for power generation. The advantages of this technology lie in its large scale and low cost; But the disadvantage lies in low efficiency, significant environmental pollution, and inflexible site selection; Therefore, the current approach is to combine air compression energy storage systems with thermal energy storage systems to compensate for technical shortcomings and increase efficiency to 70%. However, due to the addition of a thermal storage system, the initial investment cost has correspondingly increased.