- Scientists at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) have devised a system that could make the elevators in a skyscraper store energy when there is a surplus and generate it when it is needed.
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| They devise a system that turns skyscrapers into power generators. / Getty Images |
The world is dominated by skyscrapers, but now Austrian scientists have gone beyond these impressive structures and have proposed using these buildings as batteries that accumulate and release energy thanks to gravity.
This proposal comes from researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Vienna, who have proposed a new system called Lift Energy Storage Technology. (LEST).
This technology works in a very simple way and thanks to the elevators, taking advantage of the excess weight they support, the idea is to load heavy materials as baskets when the demand for energy is not very high to store them on the top floor. of this building.
When the supply stops, the elevator is recharged and, thanks to the force of gravity, the generators produce extra electricity. This could reduce the dependency of buildings on the electricity grid.
This system arose practically out of curiosity, as one of the IIASA researchers, Julian Hunt, has admitted, LEST came to him after “having spent a great deal of time going up and down elevators after moving to an apartment on the 14th floor”.
To carry out the investigation, they will first have to discover where they can store the loads when the system is fully loaded and how to distribute the weight so that accidents do not occur.
This research also reveals that there are currently a total of 18 million elevators around the world that are practically stopped and that with this proposal, a large amount of electricity could be stored and generated.