Gravity-Powered Storage
Turning Water Into Reliable Power: Pumped Hydro
Industrial-scale gravity storage engineered for a zero-carbon grid. We use gravity and elevation to store and dispatch power for global energy networks.
Built for Global Stability
Our systems provide the physical inertia and storage capacity required to transition from fossil fuels to intermittent renewables.
Built to Last
Over half a century of service life with no chemical degradation. Where batteries fade in 10–15 years, a pumped hydro asset keeps its full capacity for decades.
Clean by Design
No rare-earth minerals, no toxic chemicals, no flammability. Just water and gravity, among the lowest lifecycle carbon footprints of any grid-scale storage.
Grid Stability
Providing vital ancillary services including frequency regulation and black-start capabilities for national grids.
Gravity-Powered Storage Technology
Engineering the Grid's Gravity Battery.
Pumped Storage Hydroelectric (PSH) is the most mature large-scale energy storage technology available today, accounting for over 95% of the world's installed grid-scale storage capacity, the proven backbone of a renewable-first grid.
Explore Solutions
The Reversible Cycle
The same turbine works in both directions: it pumps water uphill to store surplus energy, then reverses to generate power on demand. One machine, two jobs — storing and delivering electricity with the same infrastructure.
Power Generation
High Demand / Low Renewables- Potential Release: Water is released from the upper reservoir through high-pressure penstocks.
- Kinetic Conversion: Falling water spins the Francis-style reversible turbines at high velocity.
- Grid Dispatch: Electromagnetic induction converts motion to electricity, feeding the regional grid.
Energy Storage
Low Demand / Excess Wind & Solar- Surplus Intake: Excess energy from solar and wind farms is diverted to the plant.
- Reverse Pumping: The generator acts as a motor, driving the turbine backwards.
- Potential Storage: Water is lifted back to the upper reservoir, storing energy for future use.
Storage Stack
Batteries and pumped hydro are not rivals but partners.
The grid needs two kinds of storage: fast bursts measured in minutes, and deep reserves measured in hours and days. Each technology owns one job. The strongest grids deploy both.
The sprinter
Batteries respond in milliseconds and excel at short, high-frequency cycles. Modular, fast to deploy, and ideal for daily balancing.
- Sub-second response & frequency regulation
- 1–4 hour discharge duration
- Modular, sites almost anywhere
- Degrades ~1.5–3% per year
The marathoner
Pumped hydro stores vast energy for long durations with minimal degradation, providing the deep reserves and synchronous inertia that batteries cannot.
- 8–12+ hour to multi-day duration
- Massive bulk capacity (GWh scale)
- Minimal degradation (<1%/yr), 50+ yr life
- Grid inertia & black-start capability
Better together
During long calm spells, pumped hydro can even trickle-charge the battery fleet through the day, keeping it ready for the evening peak. Batteries absorb the volatility; pumped hydro carries the load. ORIGO Power designs for the full storage stack — not a single point on it.
Sustainability Performance
A storage technology that runs on nothing but water and gravity. No chemicals, no rare earths, and a design built to protect the ecosystems around it.
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Technical Track Record
Proven experience in hydroelectric storage.
Reference projects developed by ORIGO's technical team across industrial-scale reversible hydroelectric power plants.
CL-PHS
Reversible Hydroelectric Plant. Complete layout and longitudinal profile.
SA-PHS
Reversible Hydroelectric Plant. Complete layout and longitudinal profile.
CHR Torga
Reversible Hydroelectric Plant. Complete layout and longitudinal profile.
CHR Xistral
Site selection and civil works design for a closed-loop reversible plant.
Raimats + Gironès PHES
Two simultaneous reversible plants drawing from the Ribarroja reservoir, Ebro River. Concession application for a combined 900 m³/s.
Spain PSH Portfolio
17 locations assessed across the Tagus and Ebro basins. Proprietary site-selection methodology.
Build the Future
Ready to Power the Next Generation?
Connect with our engineering experts to discuss pumped storage integration, sustainable energy infrastructure, and industrial-scale power solutions. Partner with Origo Power for grid-scale storage solutions.