An abandoned mine in Finland is about to be reborn as a ``giant battery warehouse'' to store renewable energy



It has been revealed that a plan is underway to utilize the depth of the base metal mine ``

Pihasalmi Mine '' in Pihajärvi, Finland, which is said to be ``the deepest in Europe'', to store energy within the mine shaft.

Europe's deepest mine to become gravity battery for storing renewable energy | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/gravity-battery-mine-renewable-energy-b2492087.html



The Pihasalmi mine was once used for mining zinc and copper, but as of 2024 it will be closed and its role as a mine has ended. It is an extremely deep mine with an internal depth of 1,444 meters, and a power storage system that uses potential energy is being installed to take advantage of this depth.

Energy storage systems that use potential energy are called 'gravity batteries.' The mechanism is simple: the surplus electricity obtained from power generation is used to lift a large weight, and when electricity is needed, the weight is lowered and the potential energy is converted into rotational energy of a turbine to generate electricity.



A gravity battery developed by Scottish company Gravitricity is scheduled to be installed at the Pihasalmi mine, and if realized, it could potentially store up to 2MW (megawatts) of energy within the mine. When storing electricity, surplus energy from renewable energies such as solar and wind power will be used.

Martin Wright, Chairman of Gravitricity's Board of Directors, commented: 'This project is a full-scale demonstration of how our technology can provide long-life energy storage.' ”, adding that the company will clearly chart a path toward other commercial projects.



According to the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, these abandoned mines are likely to be used as storage for gravity batteries, with the potential to store up to 70 TWh of energy worldwide.

in Posted by log1p_kr