this post was submitted on 11 May 2025
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Like a battery, it’s not scalable as a one off, but it may be as a modular mass produced item.
Or maybe like a wind turbine. You’d have a field of them comprising a power plant. If you lose some individuals, who cares. If you need to do maintenance you can take one offline or entirely replace it without really impacting the power plants output
An easy manufacturing method would be to 3d print in plastic a double walled shell, with fill holes for concrete, and mounting chanels for motors. Plastic "lining" would provide salt water protection for the concrete.
We have seawater resistant concrete. We don't need to plastic line it. It's the turbine that'll require the most maintenance.
Depends if the spheres require any steel reinforcement; the salt penetrates the concrete and absolutely wrecks rebar. Though I imagine spheres at depth (not to mention with a partial vacuum) can function like an arch and support themselves with compression, which concrete excels at.