BHP taps “giga-scale” gravity energy storage that may use recycled wind blades

Australian resources giant BHP has agreed to roll out the innovative long-duration energy storage technology of Swiss company Energy Vault, as part of low-carbon plans to electrify its global mining operations.

In a joint memorandum of understanding (MoU), the two companies agreed to collaborate on the deployment and implementation of Energy Vault’s “gigawatt scale” technology in BHP’s key operations and other potential applications.

Energy Vault is behind a kinetic energy based, long-duration energy storage solution that is inspired by pumped hydro, but uses blocks of solid material instead of water.

The blocks, weighing around 35 tonnes each – and which could comprise recycled wind turbine blades through a  joint venture with Enel Green Power – are lifted to store electricity and lowered when it is needed again, using gravity to generate the power as they descend.

The solution, which is controlled by proprietary software and “computer vision,” has the advantage of a much lower cost than pumped hydro, according to Energy Vault, and greater ability to be replicated in any geographical context and with greater storage efficiency.

Compared to batteries, Energy Vault says its technology has further advantages of not being exposed to storage medium degradation or risk of fire, while offering a long lifespan of 30-35 years and easy dismantling and decommissioning.

As part of the deal between BHP and Energy Vault, the two companies will also assess local supply chain collaboration, eco-brick composite manufacturing (including the potential for the re-use of mine tailings or waste), and joint maintenance and monitoring support centers.

This latter part of the deal represented an opportunity to facilitate Energy Vault’s further geographic expansion into the Australian and other global markets where BHP has operations, starting in 2022.

Robert Piconi, the co-founder and CEO of Energy Vault, the new deal with BHP – which has previously been an investor in the Swiss company – would support the low-carbon transition of a global leader in natural resources production.

“Our company’s mission is to accelerate the clean energy transition to make sustainable, decarbonised energy a reality,” Piconi said.

“This MOU demonstrates the strong momentum and demand that we continue to experience for our advanced energy storage technology across multiple industry segments and the most critical energy storage applications.”

Mark Frayman, the head of BHP Ventures, said the development of new technologies would be fundamental to achieving the decarbonisation of the global resources industry.

“Energy Vault’s technology has the potential to unlock cleaner energy solutions for our operations and create a competitive edge by helping to accelerate our decarbonisation initiatives,” Frayman said.

“This partnership may also present an opportunity to improve life-cycle sustainability by using eco-bricks made with mine tailings, and to create new opportunities for local suppliers.”

BHP announced in 2019 that it would be committing A$570 million towards cutting emissions across its mining activities, and subsequently announced a commitment achieving net zero emissions by 2050. BHP has also set an interim target to reduce its emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030 from 2020 levels.

In October, BHP signed a landmark deal with Iberdrola Australia to slash its emissions at the giant Olympic Dam mine by taking power from the new Port August Renewable Energy Park in South Australia.

Olympic Dam is one of the biggest copper, gold and uranium deposits in the world, and PAREP will be Australia’s biggest wind and solar hybrid facility with 210MW of wind and 110MW of large scale solar when it is fully commissioned next year.

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