For decades now, energy has been at the top of every government’s wishlist.

More energy, more efficient energy, alternate sources of energy, cheaper energy – you name it.

And this idea to use giant skyscrapers to address part of the problem is so smart it’s hard to believe no one has ever thought of it before now.

The architects behind the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai – came up with the idea to build “gravity energy storage systems” that lift and lower massive blocks of recycled waste materials to provide electricity when it’s needed the most.”

Engineering and architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is partnering with energy storage startup Energy Vault to make this dream a reality.

The idea itself is fairly simple.

During periods of excess renewable energy production, cranes can store large amounts of power to be later released by lowering them back down and spinning up a generator.

Energy Vault CEO Robert Piconi released a statement about the project.

“The combination of our pioneering work in gravity energy storage technology with the global track record and expertise of the most widely renowned engineering, design, and architecture firm in the world will provide the first platform toward delivering accelerated carbon payback in building construction and operation for the first time.”

They have proven this concept can be scaled up to store several gigawatt hours of energy.

This is a response to a real problem the sustainable energy industry is facing – that there isn’t enough storage for what’s being produced every day.

And we need to be able to store it because of issues like more solar energy being captured during the day but being needed at night.

Other gravity-based solutions include pumping water up from retired mine shafts then passing it back through turbines on the way back down.

There is still plenty to prove, like exactly how much this project could be scaled up.

That said, it sounds like a very promising solution.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.