Designer of World’s Tallest Building Wants to Turn Skyscrapers Into Batteries
The company behind Dubai’s 828-meter-high tower plans to harness gravity to offset construction emissions.
A rendering of a building designed to also store energy.
Image courtesy of Energy Vault
The architecture firm that designed the world’s tallest building is considering ways to build skyscrapers that can store energy using gravity.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP has developed a series of prototype designs that use electric motors to elevate massive blocks, creating potential energy that can be converted into electricity when the blocks are lowered. The designs are based on technology developed by partner Energy Vault Holdings Inc. as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries and other types of chemical cells. They are seeking developer partners interested in offsetting greenhouse gas pollution from buildings, which the United Nations estimates are responsible for almost 40% of global emissions.