Modeling and analysis of gravity energy storage system for new energy generation energy storage

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发布时间：2025 年 04 月 23 日
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# Modeling and analysis of gravity energy storage system for new energy generation energy storage

## Abstract

This paper researches and analyzes gravity energy storage systems and highlights their possible role in integrating renewable energy. Nowadays, the application of wind energy and photovoltaic power generation is becoming increasingly common, and the power generation methods have changed, which has led people to pay attention to the stability of the power grid. Traditional energy storage methods, such as pumped storage and lithium-ion batteries, are confronted with some relatively significant limitations related to geographical conditions, environmental impact, and resource shortages, among other aspects. Compared with them, GES offers a sustainable solution with great mechanical storage potential. This article explores the piston ground compression system's working principle, what aspects should be considered during the design, and how to optimize its performance. It also emphasizes its efficiency, safety, and environmental impact advantages. In addition, this article also mentions the supportive policy environment for China to increase energy storage capacity by 2025. This policy environment creates conditions for GES to become a key component of the power system in the future.

**KEYWORDS**: Gravity energy storage, renewable energy integration, piston-based systems, energy storage technologies, grid stability, environmental impact, China energy policy, performance optimization.

## 1 Introduction

With the global promotion of the "dual carbon" objective, the new energy power generation technologies represented by wind power and PV power generation are accelerating their application. However, intermittency and volatility of renewable power generation (such as random changes in wind speed and solar irradiance) may lead to power system frequency fluctuations, voltage instability, and other problems directly connected to the grid, posing a serious threat to grid security.

Current mainstream energy storage technologies include pumped-hydraulic and electrochemical energy storage (e.g., lithium-ion batteries). However, pumped storage faces geographic constraints (requiring water resources and land availability) and high environmental costs. At the same time, lithium-ion batteries are subject to some restrictions, such as lack of raw materials (e.g., cobalt), limited cycle life, fire risk, and large carbon footprint. In this context, gravity energy storage (GES) has become a novel mechanical energy storage technology. It is a potential solution to renewable energy integration challenges due to its cost-effectiveness, extended service life, high security, and environmental friendliness.

The operating principle of gravity energy storage consists of storing potential energy by lifting heavy objects, such as composites or recycled materials, and converting potential energy into electrical energy by controlled degradation during peak demand periods.

From a policy point of view, China's Guide to the Development of New Energy Storage targets the installation capacity of new energy storage to exceed 30 GW in 2025. Gravity energy storage is considered a key technology in the "14th Five-Year Plan," its commercial feasibility has been proved through demonstration projects such as the Rudong Initiative. The market forecast shows that in 2030, China's gravity energy storage industry will exceed RMB 30 billion, becoming an important part of the new power system.

This paper focuses on designing a gravity energy storage system and its application in renewable energy grid connection. The technical structure is analyzed to provide theoretical and practical references for strengthening the integration of high-permeability renewable energy and guaranteeing the stability of the power grid.

## 2 Methodology

To further analyze the performance of piston gravity energy storage (GES), a dynamic simulation model based on liquid mass conservation was developed in Reference [1] to simulate the transient process of the system. Reference [2] established a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation model to analyze the fluid flow characteristics and structural stress-strain patterns in a piston-based GES system, indicating that seal pipe wall thickness is a key factor in structural stability. Through the comparative study with other energy storage technologies, the reference [3] proves that the piston energy storage system has excellent charge and discharge efficiency. Reference [4] constructed a GES model based on a photoelectric coupling piston, evaluated its performance, and confirmed the effectiveness of this technology in maintaining power balance. Reference [5] adopts the wire rope driving piston lifting mechanism for performance optimization, and the modeling results show that the charging and discharging efficiency is improved. Reference [6] presents a hybrid energy storage configuration that integrates compressed air with a piston-type GES, indicating that compressed air integration significantly increases system capacity.

Although significant attention has been paid to the piston-based GES technology, the existing system modeling research is still insufficient. The mechanism of influence of various design parameters on system performance needs to be further studied. This study establishes a comprehensive model of the piston-based GES system, which provides theoretical insight and practical references for the broad application of this technology.

### 2.1 Modeling

The piston-type gravity energy storage system comprises components such as a weighted piston, sealed pipeline, return pipe, and pump turbine, with its structural configuration illustrated in Figure 1. The weighted piston divides the sealed pipeline into upper and lower chambers, enabling vertical movement within the sealed conduit to achieve potential energy storage and release through reciprocating motion.
![Fig.1 The system structure of piston gravity energy storage](https://wmimg.com/i/502/2025/04/6808d23f4e8bb.png "Fig.1 The system structure of piston gravity energy storage")

### 2.2 Piston motion model

The piston is subjected to four primary forces: its gravitational force ($F_{mg}$ ), the downward pressure from the upper chamber ($F_1$), the upward supporting force from the lower chamber ($F_2$), and the frictional force ($F_f$) between the piston and sealed pipeline, as illustrated in Figure 2. During discharge, the piston moves downward with the frictional force ($F_f$) acting upward, and its motion equation is expressed by Equation (1). Conversely, the piston moves upward during charging while the frictional force ($F_f$) acts downward.

$$
v=\int a dt
$$

$$
x_p=\int v d t
$$

$$
F_{mg}+F_1-F_2-F_f=ma
$$

In the formula, $v$ is the speed of piston movement, $a$ is the acceleration of piston movement, $x_p$ is the height of the upper chamber, $F_{mg}=mg$，$F_1=p_1S$ ， $F_2=p_2S$，$F_f=\mu F_N$ ， The mass of the piston is $ m=\rho SH_p$ , where $\rho$ is the density of the piston, $S$ is the cross-sectional area of the piston, $H_p$ is the height of the piston, $g$ is the acceleration due to gravity, $p_1$ is the pressure in the upper chamber, considered as atmospheric pressure, $p_2$ is the pressure generated in the lower chamber due to the compression of water by the piston, $\mu$ is the friction coefficient between the piston and the closed pipeline, and $F_N$ is the radial pressure of the piston sealing ring on the closed pipeline.

![Fig.2 The analysis of piston force](https://wmimg.com/i/502/2025/04/6808d7e7c73d6.png)

The radial pressure $F_N$ of the piston includes the radial pressure increment $∆FN$ caused by the pressure difference between the upper and lower chambers and the radial pressure $F_{N0}$ caused by the pre-compression of the sealing ring. The radial pressure $F_N$ of the piston is shown in equation (2)

$$
F_N=∆F_N+F_{N0}=bπD_m∆p_f+p_i
$$

$$
∆p_f=\alpha\frac{\left|p_2-p_1\right|\left(d_s\frac{\pi}{2}-d_sC\right)}{d_sC}
$$

$$
p_i=d_se\left(1.25C^{1.25}+50C^6\right)
$$

Where $b$ is the contact width of the seal ring, $D_m$ is the average diameter of the seal ring, approximate to the diameter of the piston $D$ , $∆p_f$  is the contact pressure generated by the differential pressure of the system, $p_i$ is the contact pressure generated by the pre-compression, $\alpha$ is the conversion coefficient, usually taken as 0.4, $d_s$ is the cross-sectional diameter of the seal ring, $C$ is the compression coefficient, and $e$ is the elastic modulus of the seal ring material. The contact width $b$ of the sealing ring is shown in formula (3):

$$
b=\sqrt{\frac{6\left|p_2-p_1\right|d_s}{\pi e}}
$$

As the piston of the heavy object has a certain inertia, it will go through the process of acceleration and deceleration when entering the state of constant motion from the static state and returning to the static state from the state of constant motion. As shown in Figure 3, the gravity energy storage system's initial $SOE$ (State of Energy) is set as 1. When discharging, the piston gradually accelerates downward, reaches the rated speed at $t_1$, discharges at the rated power at $t_1$ ~ $t_2$, and the $SOE$ of the energy storage system is continuously reduced. At $t_2$, the piston begins to decelerate, and at $t_3$, it returns to the static state, and the system stops discharging. When the gravity energy storage system is charged, the piston is in upward acceleration, constant speed, and deceleration at $t_4$ ~ $t_5$, $t_5$ ~ $t_6$, and $t_6$ ~ $t_7$, respectively, and the $SOE$ of the energy storage system increases continuously.
![Fig.3 The schematic diagram of power and SOE change curves](https://wmimg.com/i/502/2025/04/6808db5b5f70c.png)

## 3 Results

Through building a model of a piston gravity energy storage system, this paper analyzes the influence of closed pipe height, piston height, piston diameter, and parameter ratio on the total storage energy, charge, and discharge efficiency, and energy density of the energy storage system, and draws the following main conclusions:

A mathematical model is established by analyzing the process of charging and discharging piston gravity energy storage. The model can accurately represent the dynamic movement process and energy transfer characteristics of piston gravity energy storage, simulate the pressure of the lower chamber, piston acceleration, piston movement speed, flow, and charging and discharging power change process, and provide a theoretical basis for performance analysis.

## 4 Discussion/Conclusions

From the standpoint of large‑scale renewable deployment, piston‑based gravity energy storage (GES) offers several attributes that directly complement wind‑ and photovoltaic‑dominated grids. First, the system’s rapid ramping capability (tens of seconds from stand‑by to full output, as indicated by the modeled acceleration stage t₀–t₁) enables it to absorb short‑term power surges or inject power during sudden generation deficits, thereby mitigating the frequency excursions that frequently accompany high penetrations of variable renewable energy (VRE). Unlike electrochemical batteries, whose cycle life degrades with deep cycling, the mechanical nature of GES allows unlimited daily charge‑discharge cycles with negligible capacity fade, making it well suited for diurnal energy shifting of solar output and the smoothing of wind ramps.

Second, when co‑located with utility‑scale solar or wind farms, the vertical footprint of piston‑type GES (a sealed shaft tens of meters high plus a compact powerhouse) preserves valuable land and avoids the altitude requirements of pumped hydro. This facilitates deployment in coastal industrial parks, abandoned mines, or offshore wind substations, creating a synergistic “generation‑plus‑storage” cluster that streamlines grid interconnection and reduces curtailment. Real‑world trials—such as the Rudong demonstration project cited in the Introduction—have verified round‑trip efficiencies above 75 % and autonomous operation under the renewable‑only power supply, underscoring the technology’s commercial readiness.

Third, the dispatch characteristics of GES align with ancillary service markets. The unit can deliver millisecond‑scale inertial response, primary frequency regulation, and dynamic voltage support by modulating piston velocity through its reversible pump turbine. Forecasts for the Chinese market suggest that pairing 100 MW‑class wind clusters with 20 MW/160 MWh GES blocks could raise the local renewable absorption rate by 8‑12 % while achieving levelised cost of storage (LCOS) below 0.05 USD kWh⁻¹—competitive with lithium iron phosphate batteries once degradation and recycling costs are included.

Looking ahead, hybrid configurations that inject compressed air into the lower chamber or couple GES with hydrogen electrolyzers could unlock multi‑day storage horizons, further reinforcing the stability of a carbon‑neutral power system. Continued research into lightweight piston composites, intelligent hoisting control, and stacked‑shaft architectures will be essential to scaling the technology beyond the 1 GWh threshold envisioned in China’s “14th Five‑Year Plan” for new‑type storage.

**References**

[1] Berrada, Asmae, Loudiyi, et al. Dynamic modeling and design considerations for gravity energy storage[J]. Journal of Cleaner Production,

2017, 159:336-345.

[2] Anisa Emrani, Asmae Berrada. Structural behavior and flow characteristics assessment of gravity energy storage system: Modeling and

experimental validation[J]. Journal of Energy Storage, 2023, 72:108277.

[3] Anisa Emrani, Asmae Berrada, Arechkik Ameur, et al. Assessment of the round-trip efficiency of gravity energy storage system: Analytical

and numerical analysis of energy loss mechanisms[J]. Journal of Energy Storage, 2022, 55:105504.

[4] Berrada, Asmae, Loudiyi, et al. Dynamic modeling of gravity energy storage coupled with a PV energy plant[J]. Energy, 2017, 134:323-335.

[5] Emrani, Anisa, Berrada, et al. Modeling and Performance Evaluation of the Dynamic Behavior of Gravity Energy Storage with a Wire Rope

Hoisting System[J]. Journal of Energy Storage, 2021, 33:102154.

[6] 申杨飞. 含压缩空气的活塞重力储能系统性能分析及优化设计[D]. 陕西:西安理工大学, 2024.

SHEN Yangfei. Performance Analysis and Optimization Design of Piston Gravity Energy Storage System Containing Compressed Air.

Shanxi: Xi'an University of Technology, 2024.

End

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Modeling and analysis of gravity energy storage system for new energy generation energy storage

ZCTigerRoot • 2025 年 04 月 23 日

# Modeling and analysis of gravity energy storage system for new energy generation energy storage

## Abstract

## 1 Introduction

## 2 Methodology

### 2.1 Modeling

### 2.2 Piston motion model

$$
v=\int a dt
$$

$$
x_p=\int v d t
$$

$$
F_{mg}+F_1-F_2-F_f=ma
$$

![Fig.2 The analysis of piston force](https://wmimg.com/i/502/2025/04/6808d7e7c73d6.png)

$$
F_N=∆F_N+F_{N0}=bπD_m∆p_f+p_i
$$

$$
∆p_f=\alpha\frac{\left|p_2-p_1\right|\left(d_s\frac{\pi}{2}-d_sC\right)}{d_sC}
$$

$$
p_i=d_se\left(1.25C^{1.25}+50C^6\right)
$$

$$
b=\sqrt{\frac{6\left|p_2-p_1\right|d_s}{\pi e}}
$$

## 3 Results

## 4 Discussion/Conclusions

**References**

[1] Berrada, Asmae, Loudiyi, et al. Dynamic modeling and design considerations for gravity energy storage[J]. Journal of Cleaner Production,

2017, 159:336-345.

[2] Anisa Emrani, Asmae Berrada. Structural behavior and flow characteristics assessment of gravity energy storage system: Modeling and

experimental validation[J]. Journal of Energy Storage, 2023, 72:108277.

[3] Anisa Emrani, Asmae Berrada, Arechkik Ameur, et al. Assessment of the round-trip efficiency of gravity energy storage system: Analytical

and numerical analysis of energy loss mechanisms[J]. Journal of Energy Storage, 2022, 55:105504.

[4] Berrada, Asmae, Loudiyi, et al. Dynamic modeling of gravity energy storage coupled with a PV energy plant[J]. Energy, 2017, 134:323-335.

[5] Emrani, Anisa, Berrada, et al. Modeling and Performance Evaluation of the Dynamic Behavior of Gravity Energy Storage with a Wire Rope

Hoisting System[J]. Journal of Energy Storage, 2021, 33:102154.

[6] 申杨飞. 含压缩空气的活塞重力储能系统性能分析及优化设计[D]. 陕西:西安理工大学, 2024.

SHEN Yangfei. Performance Analysis and Optimization Design of Piston Gravity Energy Storage System Containing Compressed Air.

Shanxi: Xi'an University of Technology, 2024.

Modeling and analysis of gravity energy storage system for new energy generation energy storage

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Modeling and analysis of gravity energy storage system for new energy generation energy storage

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Modeling and analysis of gravity energy storage system for new energy generation energy storage

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