Mashable: The firm that designed Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is hoping to transform skyscrapers into batteries.

According to the Gulf News, Chicago-based SOM, the architecture firm that designed the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa wants to build skyscrapers that can store energy.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) has reportedly developed a series of prototype designs that use electric motors to elevate massive blocks, thus creating potential energy that can be easily converted into electricity when those blocks are lowered.

Excited to announce our exclusive global partnership with @SOM_Design! We’re integrating #GravityEnergyStorage into building design with our next-gen G-VAULT™ solutions, driving sustainability and innovation. $NRGV

Read the @Bloomberg exclusive: https://t.co/mtXqBlnQ2T pic.twitter.com/seB2mKI6pW — Energy Vault (@EnergyVaultInc) May 30, 2024

The designs are based on technology developed by partner Energy Vault Holdings Inc. These will work as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries and other types of chemical cells. The company is seeking developer partners who are interested in offsetting greenhouse gas pollution from buildings, which are responsible for almost 40 percent of global emissions as per estimation by the United Nations.

The concept is reportedly similar to widely used pumped hydroelectric plants. Energy Vault has completed its first major project this month near Shanghai. They built a stand-alone storage system that can supply as much as 25 megawatts of power for four hours.

What if a building could become a battery? We've partnered w/ Energy Vault to optimize its gravity energy storage system—where heavy blocks stored high, when released, create energy that can be converted into electricity

Read about it in @Bloomberg  https://t.co/3Jm8mLTqXV pic.twitter.com/MEjTjuXHCs — Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (@SOM_Design) May 30, 2024

SOM has also created four storage system prototypes. Three are standalone systems that use either heavy blocks or water. Two prototypes are built into hillsides and the third is a tall, cylindrical tower. The fourth and last is intended for urban areas as a towering skyscraper that could include residential, retail, as well as office spaces.

Although Energy Vault’s Shanghai project is about 150 meters (490 feet) high, SOM’s skyscraper batteries may be much higher than that, starting at 300 meters.

Adam Semel, a managing partner at SOM, said that storage technology built into tall structures would significantly change the energy economics of the construction industry. “Gravity energy storage has a huge role to play in the economy of the future,” they added. “We want to get to work on some actual buildings.”

Building tall skyscrapers is Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)’s specialty. Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which is 828-meter in height is the tallest building in the world.