The archive · Climate & Energy · Strategic decision · 2017–2026
Energy Vault's gravity bet: first EVx plant, then pivot to AI power
NYSE-listed gravity-storage pioneer commissions the world's first 25MW/100MWh EVx plant in China (2024), then pivots to lithium BESS and AI data-center power.
Energy Vault Holdings
What the business is
Utility-scale energy storage developer: proprietary EVx gravity systems (cranes lift composite blocks to store energy), plus lithium-ion BESS, hydrogen storage and control software, sold to utilities and, since 2026, AI data-center power infrastructure.
Starting capital：Over $200M in private funding before its SPAC, including a major Series B from SoftBank; the February 2022 NYSE merger valued the company at over $1 billion; October 2025 brought a $300M preferred-equity investment from Orion Infrastructure Capital.
How it started
Founded in 2017 to commercialize gravity energy storage, Energy Vault raised over $200M from backers including SoftBank and went public in February 2022 via a SPAC merger at a valuation over $1 billion — before a single commercial plant existed.
What happened
The first commercial EVx system, 25 MW/100 MWh in Rudong, China, was invested in and built by China Tianying with Atlas Renewable: mechanical completion in September 2023, state-grid interconnection in December 2023, and successful charging/discharging tests commissioned on 4 May 2024. China's energy regulator listed it as a new energy storage pilot demonstration project in January 2024. CNTY announced eight more EVx deployments totalling over 3.7 GWh, and the Atlas licensing agreement was extended to 15 years.
How it ended up
Still running, but transformed: by end-2022 Energy Vault was pivoting to lithium-ion BESS; its stock fell from above $21 to below $1 in 2025, then recovered to $5-6 after a $300M Orion Infrastructure investment in October 2025. In August 2026 it signed its largest contract ever: 1.25 GW of power infrastructure for a hyperscaler AI data center in Texas.
Background
Energy Vault, founded in 2017, bet that grid storage could be done with gravity: automated cranes lift massive composite blocks to store energy, then lower them to regenerate power — a system it called EVx. It went public in February 2022 via a SPAC merger valued at over $1 billion, before its first commercial plant existed.
The first commercial EVx plant, 25 MW/100 MWh in Rudong, China, was invested in and built by China Tianying with Atlas Renewable. It reached mechanical completion in September 2023, connected to the state grid in December 2023, and passed charging/discharging tests commissioned on 4 May 2024 — becoming the world's first commercial, grid-scale gravity storage system.
The technology worked; the business didn't follow. China's storage buildout helped CNTY announce eight more EVx deployments totalling over 3.7 GWh, but Energy Vault's revenue stayed lumpy. By end-2022 the company was shifting to lithium-ion batteries, and its stock fell from above $21 to below $1 in 2025.
Energy Vault survived by changing what it sells: a $300M preferred-equity investment from Orion Infrastructure Capital in October 2025 backed a pivot to owning and operating storage assets, and in August 2026 it signed its largest contract ever — 1.25 GW of power infrastructure for a hyperscaler AI data center in Texas, with roughly $500-600M of expected revenue impact through 2027.
What has to be true
- China's 20% storage mandate created demand no single technology could fill, giving gravity an entry the West didn't offer.
- The licensing model (CNTY builds, Energy Vault collects royalties) spread deployment risk across 3.7 GWh of announced Chinese projects.
- Public-market scrutiny forced the pivot: once the stock collapsed, lithium BESS and data-center power were what investors would fund.
- Orion's infrastructure capital treated Energy Vault as a project developer, not a technology startup, funding the new Asset Vault ownership model.
What can be applied
Gravity storage worked but didn't pay: Energy Vault survived by pivoting to lithium BESS and AI data-center power. The wedge that wins the funding round is not always the business that survives.
Aftermath
As of August 2026 Energy Vault is a different company than the one that IPO'd: gravity is a licensing sideline (about $75M in licenses across China, Africa and the Middle East), while lithium-ion BESS and AI power infrastructure drive growth. It had 340 MW of projects in development or operations and a 3 GW pipeline in January 2026, broke ground on a 150 MW Texas project under its Asset Vault ownership platform, and in August 2026 signed a 1.25 GW contract to supply BESS, grid-forming inverters and control software for a hyperscaler AI data center in Texas, expecting $500-600M revenue impact.
Sources
- Energy Vault Announces Successful Testing and Commissioning of First EVx 100 MWh Gravity Energy Storage System by China Tianying
- China connects gravity storage and launches three new projects
- After the SPAC: Why storage company Energy Vault pivoted after going public
- Energy Vault Announces Strategic Agreement to Deploy 1.25 GW of Integrated Power Infrastructure for Hyperscaler AI Data Center
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