Can Concrete Balls Power Our Future?
Philippe Waterloos
[{'start': '0.000', 'end': '8.480', 'text': 'imagine storing power from say huge offshore\xa0\nwind farms but not on land instead picture giant'}, {'start': '8.480', 'end': '14.000', 'text': "concrete balls just sitting deep on the seabed\xa0\nit's quite a visual right and that's basically"}, {'start': '14.000', 'end': '19.520', 'text': "the concept behind a project called Steny today\xa0\nwe're going deep on how this underwater energy"}, {'start': '19.520', 'end': '24.160', 'text': "storage actually works and you know what potential\xa0\nit might have yeah we've looked at quite a few"}, {'start': '24.160', 'end': '31.840', 'text': 'sources project reports comparisons expert takes\xa0\non well is this actually feasible so our mission'}, {'start': '31.840', 'end': '37.760', 'text': 'for this deep dive give you a really clear picture\xa0\nof Steny the Tech the good points the bad points'}, {'start': '37.760', 'end': '42.400', 'text': 'and what it could mean for energy storage okay\xa0\nso the absolute core idea borrows from something'}, {'start': '42.400', 'end': '47.680', 'text': 'pretty familiar pumped hydro storage right the\xa0\nclassic setup you have a reservoir up high one'}, {'start': '47.680', 'end': '52.720', 'text': 'down low use cheap electricity to pump water\xa0\nuphill yeah and then when you need power you'}, {'start': '52.720', 'end': '57.840', 'text': 'let it flow back down through turbines simple\xa0\npotential energy storage so how on earth do'}, {'start': '57.840', 'end': '63.200', 'text': "you do that under the sea where's the uphill well\xa0\nthe uphill or the upper reservoir is basically the"}, {'start': '63.200', 'end': '69.680', 'text': 'entire ocean above it the deep sea itself okay and\xa0\nthe lower reservoir is one of these uh specially'}, {'start': '69.680', 'end': '77.680', 'text': 'built hollow concrete spheres anchored way down\xa0\nmaybe 500 800 meters deep hollow concrete spheres'}, {'start': '77.680', 'end': '83.760', 'text': 'and how do you charge it right so to store energy\xa0\nyou use electric pumps pump turbines actually to'}, {'start': '83.760', 'end': '89.600', 'text': 'force the water out of the sphere ah creating\xa0\na vacuum or near vacuum inside exactly so now'}, {'start': '89.600', 'end': '94.160', 'text': "you've got this huge pressure difference between\xa0\nthe empty inside and the immense water pressure"}, {'start': '94.160', 'end': '99.760', 'text': 'outside that pressure difference is the stored\xa0\nenergy clever and getting the power back just'}, {'start': '99.760', 'end': '104.960', 'text': 'open the tap essentially yeah you open a valve\xa0\nand the outside seawater just rushes back into'}, {'start': '104.960', 'end': '109.840', 'text': 'the sphere because of that pressure and that spins\xa0\na turbine as it goes in precisely turbine connects'}, {'start': '109.840', 'end': '114.320', 'text': "to a generator makes electricity sends it back to\xa0\nthe grid it's a neat concept i see it originated"}, {'start': '114.320', 'end': '119.760', 'text': "back in what 2011 professor Schmidt Bucking and\xa0\nDr luther that's right and it moved from just"}, {'start': '119.760', 'end': '126.880', 'text': 'an idea to uh a proper research collaboration\xa0\ninvolving the Fronharer Institute IE and Hawk'}, {'start': '126.880', 'end': '131.760', 'text': "AG they got some German government funding too\xa0\nand wasn't there a small test already like a"}, {'start': '131.760', 'end': '138.000', 'text': 'proof of concept yes absolutely crucial step\xa0\nin 2016 they put a smaller one about 3 meters'}, {'start': '138.000', 'end': '144.000', 'text': 'across into Lake Constance lake Constance\xa0\nso freshwater not the deep sea yet right but'}, {'start': '144.000', 'end': '148.000', 'text': 'deep enough to test the principle it showed\xa0\nthat storing and releasing energy using this'}, {'start': '148.000', 'end': '153.840', 'text': "underwater pressure in a hollow sphere actually\xa0\nwell works okay fast forward to now they're"}, {'start': '153.840', 'end': '159.920', 'text': "planning a much bigger test off California near\xa0\nLong Beach that's the next big leap a realworld"}, {'start': '159.920', 'end': '166.080', 'text': "ocean test they're partnering with a US company\xa0\nSpa spa right they do 3D concrete printing that"}, {'start': '166.080', 'end': '170.240', 'text': 'sounds interesting it does and also Plugger\xa0\nIndustries for the underwater pumps the plan'}, {'start': '170.240', 'end': '176.320', 'text': "is a working prototype by late 2026 I believe\xa0\nand this one's much bigger than the lake model"}, {'start': '176.320', 'end': '182.800', 'text': 'oh yeah 9 m diameter sphere weighs about 400 tons\xa0\ndesigned for half a megawatt of power 4 megawatt'}, {'start': '182.800', 'end': '188.640', 'text': 'hours of storage still a prototype but getting\xa0\nsubstantial and Spa might actually 3D print this'}, {'start': '188.640', 'end': '193.200', 'text': "giant concrete ball potentially or maybe combine\xa0\nit with you know more traditional methods they'll"}, {'start': '193.200', 'end': '198.480', 'text': "build it there in Long Beach so what's the big\xa0\nappeal here why go to all this trouble putting"}, {'start': '198.480', 'end': '203.840', 'text': "concrete spheres on the seabed a major factor\xa0\nis long duration storage we're talking hours"}, {'start': '203.840', 'end': '209.920', 'text': "maybe even days that's a huge deal for renewables\xa0\nlike wind and solar that aren't you know constant"}, {'start': '209.920', 'end': '215.680', 'text': 'unlike batteries which are often more for shorter\xa0\nbursts right generally yes plus putting underwater'}, {'start': '215.680', 'end': '221.040', 'text': 'avoids a lot of the land use issues and frankly\xa0\npublic acceptance problems you get with big'}, {'start': '221.040', 'end': '228.080', 'text': 'land-based pumped hydro less ecological impact\xa0\npotentially and the potential scale seems vast'}, {'start': '228.080', 'end': '233.680', 'text': 'you mentioned GIS analysis yeah studies identified\xa0\nsuitable spots off coasts like Norway Portugal the'}, {'start': '233.680', 'end': '240.320', 'text': 'US Brazil Japan even deep lakes or flooded mines\xa0\nthe estimated global potential is huge something'}, {'start': '240.320', 'end': '245.680', 'text': 'like 817,000 gawatt hours wow oh and you could\xa0\nimagine putting these right next to offshore wind'}, {'start': '245.680', 'end': '251.440', 'text': "farms that's a key synergy you could potentially\xa0\nshare the expensive subc cabling infrastructure"}, {'start': '251.440', 'end': '255.600', 'text': "cuts down costs helps manage the variable\xa0\nwind power right where it's generated plus"}, {'start': '255.600', 'end': '260.560', 'text': "it's modular right you can add more spheres if you\xa0\nneed more storage it's exactly scalable you build"}, {'start': '260.560', 'end': '266.240', 'text': 'a farm of these spheres to match the need okay\xa0\nbut sticking big concrete things on the seabed'}, {'start': '266.240', 'end': '272.240', 'text': 'what about marine life environmental impact\xa0\nthey seem to have thought about that yeah the'}, {'start': '272.240', 'end': '277.520', 'text': 'main materials steel and concrete are pretty inert\xa0\nthey plan to use fine mesh grids to keep animals'}, {'start': '277.520', 'end': '283.360', 'text': 'out and the water flow speed when discharging\xa0\nis designed to be low minimize disturbance you'}, {'start': '283.360', 'end': '290.000', 'text': 'mentioned a specific depth earlier 600 to 800 m\xa0\nwhy that range it seems to be the uh the optimal'}, {'start': '290.000', 'end': '295.520', 'text': "trade-off you get significant water pressure for\xa0\ngood energy density but it's not so deep that you"}, {'start': '295.520', 'end': '301.840', 'text': 'need incredibly thick heavy or expensive special\xa0\nconcrete for the sphere ah okay and it allows'}, {'start': '301.840', 'end': '306.080', 'text': "using more standard underwater pump technology\xa0\nright it keeps things within the realm of let's"}, {'start': '306.080', 'end': '310.720', 'text': 'say existing marine engineering capabilities\xa0\nthe actual capacity depends on the sphere size'}, {'start': '310.720', 'end': '314.640', 'text': 'and that water pressure obviously what about\xa0\nefficiency pumping water out letting it back'}, {'start': '314.640', 'end': '320.080', 'text': 'in you lose some energy always but simulations for\xa0\na small park sphere suggest a roundtrip efficiency'}, {'start': '320.080', 'end': '326.640', 'text': "around 75 to 80% that's quite respectable actually\xa0\ncomparable to traditional pumped hydro it is and"}, {'start': '326.640', 'end': '332.560', 'text': 'the concrete sphere itself should last a long\xa0\ntime maybe 50 60 years the pumps and turbines'}, {'start': '332.560', 'end': '338.880', 'text': 'like any mechanical system would need replacing\xa0\nmaybe every 20 years or so okay the economics big'}, {'start': '338.880', 'end': '344.560', 'text': "projects like this need serious funding how does\xa0\nSteny stack up well it's got government backing"}, {'start': '344.560', 'end': '350.160', 'text': 'from Germany and the US which helps early cost\xa0\nestimates are around 4.6 cents per kilowatt hour'}, {'start': '350.160', 'end': '355.840', 'text': 'stored which sounds competitive depending on the\xa0\nmarket i guess it could be yeah the investment'}, {'start': '355.840', 'end': '362.320', 'text': 'cost estimates are out there too roughly 1,300,400\xa0\nper kilowatt of power and maybe 160% per kilowatt'}, {'start': '362.320', 'end': '367.040', 'text': 'hour of capacity profitability really depends\xa0\non how many you build together energy price'}, {'start': '367.040', 'end': '371.200', 'text': 'differences arbitrage and how often you cycle\xa0\nthem how does it compare head-to-head with other'}, {'start': '371.200', 'end': '376.240', 'text': 'storage you mentioned batteries traditional pumped\xa0\nhydro compared to traditional pumped hydro its big'}, {'start': '376.240', 'end': '382.560', 'text': 'plus is location flexibility not needing specific\xa0\nmountain geography compared to say compressed air'}, {'start': '382.560', 'end': '387.440', 'text': "storage it's likely more efficient and doesn't\xa0\nneed fossil fuels for reheating like some CAS"}, {'start': '387.440', 'end': '393.680', 'text': 'systems do and batteries batteries are great for\xa0\nfast response but large scale long duration is'}, {'start': '393.680', 'end': '398.800', 'text': 'still pricey and lithium ion has supply chain\xa0\nconcerns flow batteries are another option but'}, {'start': '398.800', 'end': '404.880', 'text': "they can be bulky stenzi aims for that large scale\xa0\nlonger duration niche it's interesting i remember"}, {'start': '404.880', 'end': '410.480', 'text': 'reading about an MIT concept a while back also\xa0\nusing concrete spheres underwater for wind energy'}, {'start': '410.480', 'end': '415.600', 'text': "storage yes there have been similar ideas floating\xa0\naround shows it's a concept people see potential"}, {'start': '415.600', 'end': '422.160', 'text': 'in the MIT idea even suggested using the spheres\xa0\nas anchors for the turbines though deploying'}, {'start': '422.160', 'end': '429.120', 'text': 'enormous spheres like that poses challenges right\xa0\nso summing up Steny is a really uh innovative take'}, {'start': '429.120', 'end': '434.480', 'text': 'on large scale longduration storage it tackles\xa0\nthat intermittency problem for renewables'}, {'start': '434.480', 'end': '439.280', 'text': "like offshore wind head on absolutely and this\xa0\nCalifornia test is going to be critical it's the"}, {'start': '439.280', 'end': '444.080', 'text': 'real make orb breakak moment to see if it scales\xa0\nup effectively and economically in the ocean'}, {'start': '444.080', 'end': '448.240', 'text': "environment it really makes you think doesn't\xa0\nit we're always looking up for energy solutions"}, {'start': '448.240', 'end': '454.080', 'text': "solar wind but maybe a big part of the answer\xa0\nlies beneath the waves using the deep ocean's"}, {'start': '454.080', 'end': '460.080', 'text': "natural properties like pressure what other ways\xa0\ncould we use the planet's environments perhaps in"}, {'start': '460.080', 'end': '465.760', 'text': "unexpected ways to solve these energy challenges\xa0\nit's a fascinating question this has been a deep"}, {'start': '465.760', 'end': '471.280', 'text': 'dive from La Podcast of Phipe and if you found\xa0\nthis look at underwater energy storage interesting'}, {'start': '471.280', 'end': '476.240', 'text': "maybe uh help us out yeah please do help us reach\xa0\na thousand subscribers we'd really appreciate it"}]