Gravitricity and DIAMO sign Czech storage agreement

Underground energy storage company Gravitricity has signed a memorandum of understanding with Czech state enterprise DIAMO with the aim of working together to seek EU funds to transform the former Darkov deep mine into a large-scale energy store, a project that could be a pathfinder for projects Europe-wide.

The two parties aim to raise funding to turn the decommissioned mine into a 4MW / 2MWh energy store – capable of powering more than 16,000 homes.

The Darkov mine is located in the coal-rich Moravian-Silesian region of the Czech Republic, near the city of Karviná.

Gravitricity plans to store energy by lowering and raising a single massive weight suspended in the Darkov mine shaft.

Gravitricity also signed a memorandum with VSB Technical University of Ostrava, whose specialist mining expertise will support the implementation of Gravitricity’s technology into the existing mine.

DIAMO is the Czech state enterprise charged with mitigating the consequences of uranium ore and coal mining.