A Wollongong based start up is becoming close to the first business in the world to store green energy in heavy weights suspended in disused mineshafts.
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Green Gravity announced it has partnered with Yancoal to study using a system of weights and pulleys in a disused coal mine near Cessnock.
The Austar coal mine was closed in 2021, but Green Gravity CEO Mark Swinnerton said the mine could in future be part of the renewable energy transition.
"Successfully identifying the best method of fitting gravitational technology at the former Austar mine site will create a template for beneficial re-use of legacy mining sites for Yancoal, and for thousands of other mines around the country," Mr Swinnerton said.
"Green Gravity's energy storage technology represents a breakthrough in the search for economic long-duration storage of renewable energy."
Green Gravity's system proposes to use a system of weights to store renewable energy. Weights would be lifted when renewable energy is cheap, and then dropped when there is demand for electricity, with the movement of the weights creating mechanical electricity. In the case of Austar, Mr Swinnterton said the mine could feasibly supply hundreds of megawatt hours, similar to a large-scale grid battery.
While an early-stage feasibility study is underway of similar technology in the Czech Republic, Green Gravity hopes to have the first such system up and running.
"This study represents an outstanding opportunity for Green Gravity and Yancoal to identify new economic potential at the former Austar mine site, add regional jobs, demonstrate reuse options for legacy coal mining and deliver a better environmental outcome," Mr Swinnerton said.
The Austar mine provides a number of shafts in the one location, enabling Green Gravity to test a variety of services which could feed into the electricity grid. Mr Swinnerton said the company hoped to be ready to invest in a grid-ready system by 2024.
While Mr Swinnerton declined to announce a figure of how much a system would cost, he said the technology would be competitive with pumped hydro and large-scale lithium batteries when deployed.
Green Gravity, which is headquartered at the University of Wollongong's Innovation Campus, has been growing, including hiring more staff to be based in the Illawarra. Although the company is still yet to deploy the technology, Mr Swinnerton said it would be "feasible" to manufacture the system in the Illawarra, depending on the support it received including from the state government.
"We intend to have multiple studies to make sure we maximise our options, understand the tech and find the best place to invest first."
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