Researchers have come up with an ingenious idea to tackle our renewable energy storage woes — effectively turning skyscrapers into massive gravity-powered batteries.

A team from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria suggest to take advantage of the vertical height of tall buildings, a system they've dubbed the Lift Energy Storage Technology (LEST).

The idea is to have autonomous robots load heavy ballasts into existing elevators when demand for power is low and store them at the top of the building. When energy usage peaks, these weights could then be added back to the elevators and lowered back down, generating extra electricity through a generator.

The LEST system could allow individual buildings to greatly lower their dependence on the central grid, the scientists say, particularly during peak hours, while also allowing us to store more renewable energy in built up areas — but, as always, the devil is in the detail.

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