Solid gravity energy storage: Pioneering energy storage solution-A review

Increasing of tendency to utilize renewable energy sources requires effective large-scale energy storage solutions to manage variability and meet changing energy demands. Solid gravity energy storages (SGES) have emerged as a promising answer in this issue, which offers specific advantages in terms of scalability, sustainability, and reliability. This review paper investigates various SGES technical routes. Each of them is discussed for its operational principles, structural configurations, and mathematical models. The review paper comprises an analysis of their advantages and drawbacks, which include energy capacity, efficiency, flexibility, economic issues, lifespan, and environmental impact evaluation of technical routes of the SGES system. Comparative assessments among these technologies explicate their respective strengths and limitations, which lead to insights into optimal applications and extension plans. Despite challenges related to initial capital investments and geographic restrictions, SGES technologies exhibit promising prospects for enhancing energy storage capabilities in different scales. Recent improvements in materials science and engineering design have readied a proper situation to accelerate the evolution of SGES, and clearing the path towards to a sustainable and reliable energy storage. Furthermore, the review paper includes a prospect analysis of SGES research, providing a comprehensive overview of current trends, research focus areas, and future evolutions. The outlook for SGES is explored with emphasis on potential advancements in smart grid integration, hybrid energy storage systems, and urban applications.