Swiss 'water battery' boosts Europe's energy storage plans
POWER & RENEWABLE ENERGY

Swiss 'water battery' boosts Europe's energy storage plans

A 2-billion-Swiss franc (€2.05 billion/$2.10 billion) project could help stabilise Europe's increasingly expensive electricity as it shifts to renewable energy.

The water battery, Nant de Drance, located between two reservoirs in a cave 600 m (nearly 2,000 ft) underground in the Swiss canton of Valais, is being described as a big step in Europe's transition to green energy. Europe will need to develop 200 GW of energy storage capacity by 2030 — more than fourfold its current capacity, the European Association for Storage of Energy estimates.

The project, which took 14 years to finish, is made up of 17 km (10.5 miles) of underground tunnels, housing six huge turbines powered by water cascading down a steel pipe in a cavern the length of two football fields. At the peak of construction, 650 workers were on-site, working to excavate some 1.5 million cubic meters of mountain rock at an altitude of 2,000 m.

The project involved raising the water level of one of the two reservoirs, the upper one (Vieux-Emosson) by 21.5 meters to double its capacity. It now holds as much water as 6,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools (25 million cubic meters of water).

Crucially to its success, Nant de Drance uses variable speed pump turbines. This means the power-pumped hydropower plant can switch from pumping at full power to running the turbine at full power within five minutes. The volume of water passing through the turbines, 360 cu m a second, corresponds to the flow of the Rhone River in Geneva in summer.

A 2-billion-Swiss franc (€2.05 billion/$2.10 billion) project could help stabilise Europe's increasingly expensive electricity as it shifts to renewable energy. The water battery, Nant de Drance, located between two reservoirs in a cave 600 m (nearly 2,000 ft) underground in the Swiss canton of Valais, is being described as a big step in Europe's transition to green energy. Europe will need to develop 200 GW of energy storage capacity by 2030 — more than fourfold its current capacity, the European Association for Storage of Energy estimates. The project, which took 14 years to finish, is made up of 17 km (10.5 miles) of underground tunnels, housing six huge turbines powered by water cascading down a steel pipe in a cavern the length of two football fields. At the peak of construction, 650 workers were on-site, working to excavate some 1.5 million cubic meters of mountain rock at an altitude of 2,000 m. The project involved raising the water level of one of the two reservoirs, the upper one (Vieux-Emosson) by 21.5 meters to double its capacity. It now holds as much water as 6,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools (25 million cubic meters of water). Crucially to its success, Nant de Drance uses variable speed pump turbines. This means the power-pumped hydropower plant can switch from pumping at full power to running the turbine at full power within five minutes. The volume of water passing through the turbines, 360 cu m a second, corresponds to the flow of the Rhone River in Geneva in summer.

Related Stories

Gold Stories

Next Story
Equipment

BEML Wins GeM Award for Highest MSE Order Value

BEML Limited has received the “Maximum Order Value to MSEs” award at the 10th Foundation Day celebrations of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal presented the award, which was received on behalf of BEML by Anil Jerath, Director (Finance).The recognition acknowledges BEML's efforts to strengthen procurement from Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) through the GeM platform.BEML said its procurement initiatives are aimed at encouraging greater participation of MSEs in public procurement and supporting the gr..

Next Story
Equipment

BKT to Showcase Advanced Off-Highway Tyres at Bauma ConExpo

Balkrishna Industries Ltd (BKT) will showcase its latest off-highway tyre solutions at Bauma ConExpo India 2026, scheduled from September 15-18 at the India Expo Centre, Greater Noida.The company will display a range of application-specific tyres for construction, mining and industrial operations at Hall 12, Booth No. 1. Key products will include the EARTHMAX SR 30 for loaders and articulated dump trucks and the AIROMAX AM 27 for mobile cranes.BKT will also showcase MINE FORCE, EARTHMAX EXPERTO GD1, XL GRIP NEO, DYNA HAUL, CONSTEER and EARTHMAX SR423. The tyres are designed to operate under he..

Next Story
Products

Koemmerling opens Navi Mumbai experience centre

Koemmerling, a brand of the profine Group, has expanded its presence in the Mumbai metropolitan region with the opening of a new experience centre in Navi Mumbai and launched its Allure S46 minimal sliding door system for the Indian market.Located in CBD Belapur, the facility was inaugurated by Peter Mrosik, Owner and CEO, profine Group, along with Farid Khan, Chairman and Managing Director, profine India, and Kamal Bajaj, CEO, profine India.The company said the new centre will showcase its portfolio of uPVC and aluminium window and door systems to architects, developers and homeowners.The ina..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement