Energy Vault signs strategic development agreement with Eskom to deploy 25 MW / 100 MWh gravity energy storage system and up to 4 GWh across Southern Africa

Type: Partnership · Technology: Storage · Country: South Africa · Capacity: 25 MW · Announced: 2026-05-13

Energy Vault entered a strategic development agreement with South Africa’s state-owned utility Eskom to deploy a 25 MW / 100 MWh grid-scale gravity energy storage system (GESS) at the Hendrina Power Station in Mpumalanga. The framework also enables the co-development and licensing of up to 4 GWh of long-duration storage deployments across all 16 Southern African Development Community states, including Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia, and others. The project will utilize Energy Vault’s EVx 2.0 gravity platform, which employs recycled blocks made from waste coal ash weighing up to 25-30 tons each. The platform incorporates advances in software orchestration, mechanical operations, and construction automation. Robert Piconi, chairman and chief executive officer at Energy Vault, highlighted the partnership’s potential to advance long-duration storage at scale while pioneering sustainable industrial development.

Analysis

Energy Vault has entered a strategic development agreement with Eskom to deploy a 25 MW / 100 MWh gravity energy storage system at the Hendrina Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The agreement also allows for the co-development and licensing of up to 4 GWh of long-duration storage across 16 Southern African Development Community states. Eskom, a South African state-owned utility, generates approximately 95% of the country's electricity and manages the national transmission grid. This deployment will utilize Energy Vault's EVx 2.0 gravity platform, incorporating recycled blocks made from waste coal ash.

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