The present invention provides novel designs and improved methods for the construction and operation of a gravity powered energy storage facility. This facility might also be called a gravity battery or a gravitational potential energy storage device. The device converts electricity into gravitational potential energy, and vice versa, by raising and lowering massive modules between a higher elevation and a lower elevation. These modules could maximize their mass with weight container units consisting of any heavy medium, such as water, stone, metal, concrete, compacted earth, etc. The present invention includes such designs and design optimizations which can achieve such scale. To accomplish this, the system's height is optimized by utilizing an underground vertical shaft which can provide a large height differential. And the system's weight is optimized by implementing a modular design which can evenly distribute a very large load. This modular design uses multiple tethers, gears, or other supporting elements to evenly distribute the load for modular sections of weight. Further design elements optimize this system for peak performance.

An energy storage system includes a heat generation apparatus configured to generate heat from electric power and a heat storage device configured to store the heat generated by the heat generation apparatus, the heat generation apparatus including an electric motor connected to an electric power system and rotated by surplus electric power received from the electric power system, and a heat generator having a rotary unit rotated by the electric motor and a heat generating unit configured to generate heat through electromagnetic induction, and configured to convert rotational force of the electric motor to heat.

A kinetic energy recovery system with flywheel includes a cascade flywheel doubly-fed electric machine. The cascade flywheel doubly-fed electric machine has a stator end coil, a rotor end coil and a flywheel. The flywheel can store kinetic energy by increasing speed or releasing kinetic energy by decreasing speed. A control circuit has an inverter, a rectifier and a DC bus connecting the inverter and the rectifier. The inverter is used to supply alternating current to the rotor end coil. The rectifier has an AC end connected to the stator end coil through an AC bus. The rectifier converts alternating current to direct current, so that the inverter can draw power from the DC bus. An electric motor has a phase coil connected to the AC bus. When the cascaded flywheel double-fed electric machine decelerates, the kinetic energy recovery system with flywheel will convert mechanical energy into electrical energy.

A power transfer system includes a series of energy storage modules (ESMs) or energy storage devices (ESDs) that are coupled together to be able to transfer power between one another, as well as receive power from a power source, such as an onshore power generator. The energy storage modules may be hybrid energy storage modules, each including an electrical-machine-inertial energy store and an electro-chemical energy store. The energy storage modules are configured to receive constant-current DC or AC input from the power source, and are able to provide constant-current and constant-voltage output, either sequentially or simultaneously. The power transfer system allows the modules to operate independently or in conjunction with one another, should some of the connections of the system be broken. The energy storage modules may be used to provide power to underwater systems, for example sonar systems, weapons systems, or underwater vehicles.

The disclosed embodiments provide a highly efficient, utility scale energy storage and retrieval system. The system is characterized by a chain of multiple rotating interconnected masses (8), a hollow toroid-shaped housing (1), plural pairs of permanent magnets (7, 11), magnets (7, 11) and coils (10) for the charging and discharging of electric energy and is operated by an automated control system. The mass (8) chain is fitted and rotating inside the housing (1), and the energy is stored into the rotational energy of the chain. The transformation of electrical energy into rotational energy or vice versa is carried out by using coil units (10). In order to minimize losses, the chain is magnetically levitating and a vacuum is pumped into the housing (1).

The present disclosure is directed to a system for electric energy storage. The system includes at least one energy cell. The energy cell has a plurality of weights, a carriage, a trolley, a belt and a main drive. The system is configured to move vertically the weights and to store the weights on either an upper portion or a lower portion of the energy cell. The system is charged or discharged by moving the weights from the lower portion to the upper portion or from the upper portion to the lower portion. The present disclosure also provides for a method for electric energy storage.

Disclosed is a method for electrical supply of an apparatus by a system including an intermittent electrical source, electrical storage unit, a fuel cell, and an electrochemical unit for generating the fuel. The method includes steps of: determining a power balance of the system depending on the power consumed by the apparatus and supplied by the intermittent electrical source; receiving data representative of the stability of the power balance during a safety period; controlling the fuel cell and the electrochemical unit: to activate the electrochemical unit if the power balance is greater than a first threshold and the data are not characteristic of a subsequent decrease in the power balance; activating the fuel cell if the power balance is less than a second threshold, which is less than the first threshold, and the data are not characteristic of a subsequent increase in the power balance.

An apparatus for supporting a flywheel on a floating vessel includes a support for the flywheel; and a tilt sensor for measuring an angle of slope relative to the Earth, the tilt sensor being arranged to detect a change of an angle of slope of the floating vessel relative to the Earth. The apparatus further includes a driver for manoeuvring the support relative to the floating vessel, based on the measured angle of slope from the tilt sensor, wherein the driver is operable to manoeuvre the support so as to counteract a change of an angle of slope of the flywheel relative to the Earth due to the detected change of an angle of slope of the floating vessel.

Disclosed herein is a method for converting energy between electric, kinetic, and potential and storing potential energy; the method comprising the steps of: providing a conveyor belt having a lower end, an upper end; the conveyor belt configured to convey conveyed material between the upper end and the lower end in both directions; providing an evaluation system configured to determine the electric power load on an electrical grid relative to the power supply on the electrical grid; a generator configured to generate electric power when the conveyor belt conveys the conveyed material from the high potential energy storage location to the low potential energy storage location; coupling a motor to the conveyor belt, the motor configured to provide motive force to the conveyor belt to convey the conveyed material from the low potential energy storage location to the high potential energy storage location.

Systems and methods for supplementing power to a drilling operation's generator and motor systems are disclosed. A power unit is connected to a power grid between generators and motors for a drilling operation. The power unit saps and stores energy from the electrical grid when the generator has excess capacity and providing power to the motors when the demand from the motors exceeds the available capacity of the generators.