Energy storage container with four lifting legs

What is lift energy storage technology (lest)?

Lift Energy Storage Technology (LEST) is a gravitational-based storage solution. Energy is stored by lifting wet sand containers or other high-density materials, transported remotely in and out of the lift with autonomous trailer devices. The system requires empty spaces on the top and bottom of the building.

Can lifts and empty apartments in tall buildings store energy?

This paper proposes the use of lifts and empty apartments in tall buildings to store energy. Lift Energy Storage Technology (LEST) is a gravitational-based storage solution. Energy is stored by lifting wet sand containers or other high density materials, which are transported remotely in and out of the lift with autonomous trailer devices.

Could lift energy storage technology be a viable alternative to long-term energy storage?

Conclusion This paper concludes that Lift Energy Storage Technology could be a viable alternative to long-term energy storage in high-rise buildings. LEST could be designed to store energy for long-term time scales (a week) to generate a small but constant amount of energy for a long time.

What is a lest energy storage system?

LEST is a decentralized solution for energy storage with daily to weekly cycles. The installed capacity energy storage cost of LEST is 21–128 USD/kWh. LEST is particularly interesting for providing decentralized ancillary services. The world potential for LEST is estimated to be 30 to 300 GWh.

Can lifts be used as energy storage devices?

There are several ghost towns where the lifts could be used as energy storage devices. A review of ghost cities in China can be seen in Ref. . In some cases, the investors do not rent empty apartments because they want to be flexible to sell the flat any time they get a good price. So, LEST can be a good application for such empty flats.

How can energy be stored as energy?

“Energy is stored as potential energy by elevating storage containers with an existing lift in the building from the lower storage site to the upper storage site,” the scientists said. “Electricity is then generated by lowering the storage containers from the upper to the lower storage site.”