Tesla had an idea for this a long time ago. But his idea was to GENERATE electricity. Of course, that was a long time ago when people didn't understand basic science. His idea would not work.
This idea doesn't generate electricity, it STORES it, with a 20% loss round-trip.
Their idea is to use this in conjunction with wind and solar energy production.
I'm not surprised the inventor is in Germany. Germany has heavily invested in solar. But, as the article states, this idea won't work in Germany because its waters are not deep enough for the needed pressure. Because remember as the water gets deeper (and the pressure increases) the energy stored is greater. Because there're constraints on the size and number of tanks, they must increase the energy/volume ratio.
BUT... this is a new kind of idea. I am certain there'll be hangups all over the place. And that's before we're even considering the ecological issues that might crop up. So I'd not be hopeful about this.
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