Gravity storage company Energy Vault suffers lacklustre start to trading on NYSE

Swiss utility-scale energy storage company Energy Vault, which has designed an innovative gravity and kinetic energy-based energy storage system, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday and is boasting a market cap of around $US1.3 billion ($A2 billion).

Energy Vault has developed a utility- and gigawatt-scale energy storage system inspired by pumped hydro plants, but relying on the basics of gravity and kinetic energy.

Instead of pumping water, Energy Vault’s technology lifts and lowers composite bricks made from recycled and locally sourced materials – such as recycled wind turbine blades. The 35-tonne bricks are lifted using a massive crane operation to store electricity and lowered when the electricity is needed again.

The Switzerland-based company, founded in 2017, has received some attention since debuting its technology, securing partnerships with big-name utilities and companies around the world.

In July of last year, Energy Vault signed a partnership with Italian renewables giant Enel Green Power to incorporate end-of-life wind turbine materials in the manufacture of the 35-tonne bricks.

And since June of 2021, Energy Vault has signed massive investment deals with Saudi Aramco and Atlas Renewable, as well as deployment agreements with BHP, Korea Zinc’s Australia-based subsidiary Sun Metals, and Atlas Renewable and its majority investor China Tianying.

On the back of continued interest and investment, Energy Vault took the unsurprising step to take the company public, using the popular method amongst electric mobility and renewable companies of signing with a special purpose acquisition company, SPAC, also known as a blank-cheque company.

Energy Vault announced on Friday of last week that it had completed the business combination with blank cheque company Novus Capital Corporation II – a company set up and listed on the New York Stock Exchange for the sole purpose of later merging with Energy Vault.

“We are pleased to begin this exciting new chapter in Energy Vault’s history as we transition to a public company,” said Robert Piconi, CEO of Energy Vault.

“The proceeds enabled by this transaction, coupled with the additional strategic partnerships we have signed with some of the largest energy and industrial leaders across the globe provide a significant runway for us to drive shareholder value and execute against our growth strategy.”

But the first day of trading was not fantastic. The shares reached a temporary high of $US12.44 before falling to finish the first day at $US9.39. They closed on Tuesday at $UDS9.93.