Old Coal Mines as Giant Batteries – Brilliant Idea or Engineering Nightmare?

Old coal mines could hold the key to one of the biggest challenges in the clean energy transition — long-duration energy storage. From gravity systems to underground pumped hydro and compressed air solutions, researchers are revisiting these vast, abandoned structures as potential “underground batteries.” But while the physics may be straightforward, the reality is far more complex. So, can we really turn millions of disused mine shafts into a reliable energy storage network, or is this another promising idea that struggles to survive in the real world? Help support this channel's independence at   / justhaveathink   Or with a donation via Paypal by clicking here https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr... You can also help keep my brain ticking over during the long hours of research and editing via the nice folks at BuyMeACoffee.com https://www.buymeacoffee.com/justhave... Reference Links Engineering with Rosie - Compressed Air video    • The Genius Energy Storage Idea Everyone Fo...   Oak Ridge National Laboratory https://www.ornl.gov/news/transformin... Michael Barnard on Compressed air technologies https://cleantechnica.com/2024/05/07/... Article in The Independent newspaper https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/gr... Article on NS Energy website https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/anal... Gravitricity liquidation news https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/en... Hydrostor website https://hydrostor.ca/ Check out other YouTube Climate Communicators Simon Clark:    / simonoxfphys   ClimateTown:    / @climatetown   Dr Gilbz    / @drgilbz   zentouro:    / zentouro   Climate Adam:    / climateadam   Kurtis Baute:    / scopeofscience   Sarah Karvner:    / @sarahkarver   Beckisphere:    / @beckisphere   Our Changing Climate :    / @ourchangingclimate