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MIT scientists propose power storage using cement blocks
(www.datacenterdynamics.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
We have already solved this problem, and concrete blocks is not the way to do it.
Water can do the exact same thing, but it flows through pipes and can be moved by pumps, it doesnt "break", it doesnt require complex moving mechanisms, and it can actually 100% fill a given volume (blocks cannot)
We already do this, right now.
This is the whole "they are trying to re-invent trains again" thing.
Did you read the article? This isn't gravity storage, they're making big capacitors by taking advantage of the way carbon black spreads into closely-spaced pockets when added to cement. It would be part of an electrical circuit.
I'm not saying it's a good idea; I'm not an electrical engineer, so I can't really assess the benefits and risks. But I don't think it's the thing you're complaining about.
Isn't it good to have other methods. There will be places where water is impractical.