Energy Vault的重力赌注：先建EVx电厂，再转向AI电力

做的是什么生意

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.

启动资金：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.

起因

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.

经过

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.

结果

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.

可借鉴之处

重力储能有效但不赚钱：Energy Vault靠转向锂电池储能和AI数据中心供电存活下来。赢得融资的秘诀不一定是最终能存活的业务。