Embodied energy is dicey to calculate simply too complex so at this point dollars per kwh is better proxy and the tech is competitive with lithium ions in that arena. Course it requires more size... Looks like the inventors biggest expense and i'm sure energy sink is the concrete, I'd be tempted to look into stabilized earth blocks to reduce that further and build right on site. Its encouraging though to see we really aren't out to lunch on what could be done with simpler energy storage tech strategies.
Not going to lie dairy farming with the lady is a hard go right now in historically low price consolidation phase its in, I'm basically working hard for free to help keep their family farm going and then making my scratch off the farm in a wind industry niche. Feel like my tendency to give into capricious free roaming impulses is being very much tested. I don't know if buckling down and making this farm a success for my lady and her family is the version of success I was after and i'm struggling to drive myself forward.
There is lots of positives though, have produced some stellar heifers, pastured milk fattened hogs, become a solid tractor wrench/operator, made world class grass forage and lived through first hand the daily grind against entropy the last few years that it takes to keep this all going. Physically I can keep doing this, mentally though I am bored and lonely for in ways rural american culture can't really fix.
The way forward is to build a community here with little solar powered cabins, refurbed trailers and basic infrastructure and then transition away from so much of the dairy grind. Its just not easy to get there and I am impatient by nature and prone to give up too soon.
Anyways that was too much but it does answer your kid question in that I don't have shit sorted out enough to want to add more difficulty to our situation.