Episode 642

642: Rethinking Energy Storage: A Conversation with Energy Vault CEO, Robert Piconi

Published on: 19th October, 2023

It’s a foregone conclusion at this point that to reach the necessary level of renewable energy penetration on the grid that will meaningfully address climate change, energy storage is a must. All that wind & solar energy also needs to be dispatchable. And, while batteries are seen as a crucial component of energy storage systems, the limitations with today’s battery chemistries and energy densities suggest that we still need storage alternatives. Both lithium-ion batteries and pumped hydro storage currently dominate the energy storage market but they each represent challenges related to cost and environmental impact. What if we could re-think hydropower using gravity but avoiding the dramatic environmental cost?

Listen as Robert Piconi, the Co-founder & CEO of Energy Vault, discusses their diverse technology portfolio that provides software and hardware energy storage solutions to meet clients’ needs from municipalities to major investor-owned utilities. Piconi and his team have reimagined energy storage by developing an innovative, gravity-based alternative. Their unique system uses eco-composite bricks for long-duration energy storage(LDES), but they readily admit that there has to be a (technology) bridge to LDES.

Energy Vault's approach combines various storage technologies to fulfill diverse energy needs while emphasizing a novel software management solution that itself could be a world-class product for dispatching & balancing energy loads. Energy Vault offers a tailored energy storage solution for public utilities, independent power producers, and industrial energy users working with renewables to address the demand catalyst, climate change. Today we dig into just how this innovation came into existence, and why the industry is taking note.

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Mentioned in this episode:

CPS July 2024 V2

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About the Podcast

SunCast
Your resource for developing a clean energy or climate tech career
Nico Johnson takes you into conversations with those at the forefront of Renewable Energy.

SunCast gives an inside look into what is happening in renewable energy. From conversations with the biggest Solar Panel manufacturers in the world to the small startups creating the future of renewable energy, such as carbon capture and battery technology breakthroughs.

SunCast is dedicated to providing the knowledge, research, tools and expert guidance you need to understand, grow and be ahead of the curve in the fastest-growing markets in the world.

Featuring over 600 conversations, Nico has interviewed people from Tesla, SolarCity, Trina Solar, Meyer Burger, Conergy, SunEdison, Energy Vault and even the US Government... to name a few. Covering topics such as Solar Power, Wind Energy, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Carbon Capture, Finance, Hydrogen, and more.

You can watch SunCast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SunCastMedia

...or view the full archive of SunCast episodes here: https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes