Potential energy is not real energy; it is merely a quantity that characterizes the curvature of the field
In the book "The Universe is a unified object", author Ngo Quang Ha constructed and demonstrated that potential energy is not real energy.
From that, the author was able to explain phenomena such as mass defect and gravitational redshift.
The book (in English) is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HCGYPFK1