To evaluate the cost and investment of various energy storage, ZH Energy Storage has developed an energy storage cost and investment return calculator called NeLCOS. We welcome everyone to try it out and provide feedback:
http://nelcos.z-henergy.com
Or follow the following official account to reply: Calculator

After the merger of gravity energy storage company Energy Vault and special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Novus Capital Corporation II, Energy Vault was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on February 14th under the stock code "NRGV". Its stock option certificate is listed as "NRGV WS".


This merger raised approximately $235 million in total revenue for the company. Of this, $195 million comes from private investments in public equity (PIPE) commitments made by South Korean Zinc Corporation and Atlas Renewable (a strategic partner of Energy Vault), as well as numerous funds and accounts including SoftBank Investment Advisors.



For these two strategic partners, South Korea's zinc industry has increased its pipeline commitment from $100 million to $150 million. South Korean zinc industry sees Energy Vault's new technology as a possible means of decarbonization for its own mining and refining business, including its Australian subsidiary Sun Metals.



At the same time, Atlas Renewable has partnered with Energy Vault to commercialize the technology in China. Altas Renewable's main shareholder is China Tianying (000035), a group company specializing in waste treatment and recycling, waste incineration power generation, and more. The chairman of Atlas is Jeb Bush, the brother of former US President George W. Bush. Energy Vault stated that they have reached a technology licensing agreement of $50 million and a pipeline commitment of $50 million.



Chinese Tianying (000035)




According to the announcement released on February 7th by Tianying (000035) in China:

In order to introduce international advanced energy storage technology and accelerate the company's new energy industry layout, Atlas Renewable LLC (hereinafter referred to as "Atlas"), a subsidiary of China Tianying Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Tianying" or "the Company"), signed a Technology License Agreement (hereinafter referred to as "this Agreement" or "the Agreement") with gravity energy storage technology developer Energy Vault, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "EV") on January 30, 2022 (Beijing time). According to the agreement, EV authorizes Atlas to exclusively use licensed technology to construct and operate Gravity Energy Storage System (GESS) facilities in China (including Hong Kong and Macau).

The main contents of the agreement include

1. Agreement content

(1) Licensor: Energy Vault, Inc

(2) Licensee: Atlas Renewable LLC

(3) Licensed Technology: As of the effective date of this Agreement, all intellectual property rights (patents, copyrights, software, proprietary technology, and trade secrets worldwide, excluding trademarks) of the Gravity Energy Storage System ("GESS") owned by EV, as well as all technological improvements made by EV or Atlas or jointly by both parties. The licensed technology includes software used to operate GESS.

(4) License Method and Region: EV authorizes Atlas to exclusively use the licensed technology to construct and operate GESS facilities in China (including Hong Kong and Macau) in accordance with the provisions of this agreement. During the licensing period, without the prior written consent of Atlas, EV shall not directly or indirectly use, license or otherwise transfer the licensed technology to third parties in the China region (including Hong Kong and Macau). Meanwhile, EV agrees to grant Atlas a sub license for the licensed technology to China Tianying.

(5) Fees and Payment: Consisting of an exclusive license fee and usage fee, the exclusive license fee is 50 million US dollars, and Atlas will complete the payment in three installments before August 15, 2022, as agreed in the agreement.

(6) License Period: The initial license period starts on the effective date of the agreement and terminates on August 9, 2029. If the following conditions are met, the license period will be automatically extended for seven and a half years: (a) Atlas has paid the exclusive license fee in accordance with the agreement; (b) Atlas and its sub licensors have deployed a gravity energy storage system with no less than 3 GWh of energy storage using licensed technology; (c) Atlas has not committed any uncorrected breach under the Technology License Agreement and other related agreements.

(7) Collaboration project: EV will advance $25 million to build a 100MWh gravity energy storage demonstration project in Rudong, Jiangsu, and complete it within 2022 for commercial operation.




The listing plan of Energy Vault and the announcement of China Tianying have shown us the following transactions:


1. China Tianying (000035) invests in Energy Vault through its holding subsidiary Atlas.
2. Energy Vault has advanced $25 million to build a 100MWh gravity energy storage demonstration project in Rudong, Jiangsu.

3. Atlas paid an additional $50 million licensing fee to Energy Vault to obtain exclusive technology licenses in China (including Hong Kong and Macau).



It is understood that the principle of Energy Vault's gravity energy storage technology is similar to pumped storage. Its early technologies include lifting 35 tons of heavy objects on a crane and lowering them to release energy, using rich and recyclable materials to manufacture, which can provide a high level of sustainability.

But so far, only one 5MW energy storage demonstration system has been built in Switzerland.





According to the rendering of a new generation of large-scale projects released by Energy Vault, it is no longer a tower crane.



We look forward to the smooth implementation of Energy Vault's project in Rudong, Jiangsu.

Related articles:

Where is Goldman Sachs investing $250 million in compressed air energy storage technology?

The California government will invest $380 million in 2022 to support the development of long-term energy storage