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GBES Concept


Ground-Breaking Energy Storage


GBES is a large-scale electrical energy storage concept that aims to take some of the cost out of pumped hydro storage and, much more importantly, to bring it down from the mountains. GBES can be used:

●  in flat or hilly terrain

●  inland or offshore

●  near load centers, within offshore wind arrays, at strategic locations in the grid network

●  and in conjunction with large infrastructure schemes – public water supply / district heating / flood control / coastal protection / land reclamation.


If successful, GBES would improve supply security, load management and asset utilization. It could also cope with unprecedented levels of variable renewables - say >50% of annual energy (>75% with a sensible technology mix).


Other promising attributes include:

●  applicable to the highest (multi-GW) power levels

●  >10 hours of stored energy (up to 50 hours, if required, at low marginal cost and >100 hours at moderate cost)

●  attractive $/MW and $/MWh capital cost guesstimates (aren't they always?)

●  excellent performance and safety characteristics

●  multiple decade operating life.


GBES uses pumped hydro techniques to store energy by elevating a large geological working mass. The walls and base of this geological 'piston' and ‘cylinder’ are formed by excavation/mining/quarrying (so, for once, this really can be described as a groundbreaking technology!). Please contact EscoVale for further information or visit our downloads page.