Development status of flywheel energy storage system

Could flywheels be the future of energy storage?

Flywheels, one of the earliest forms of energy storage, could play a significant role in the transformation of the electrical power system into one that is fully sustainable yet low cost.

What are the potential applications of flywheel technology?

Other opportunities are new applications in energy harvest, hybrid energy systems, and flywheel’s secondary functionality apart from energy storage. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

What is a flywheel energy storage system?

A typical flywheel energy storage system , which includes a flywheel/rotor, an electric machine, bearings, and power electronics. Fig. 3. The Beacon Power Flywheel , which includes a composite rotor and an electric machine, is designed for frequency regulation.

What is a flywheel/kinetic energy storage system (fess)?

Thanks to the unique advantages such as long life cycles, high power density, minimal environmental impact, and high power quality such as fast response and voltage stability, the flywheel/kinetic energy storage system (FESS) is gaining attention recently.

How much energy does a flywheel store?

Indeed, the development of high strength, low-density carbon fiber composites (CFCs) in the 1970s generated renewed interest in flywheel energy storage. Based on design strengths typically used in commercial flywheels, σ max /ρ is around 600 kNm/kg for CFC, whereas for wrought flywheel steels, it is around 75 kNm/kg.

What are the advantages of a flywheel versus a conventional energy storage system?

When the flywheel is weighed up against conventional energy storage systems, it has many advantages, which include high power, availability of output directly in mechanical form, fewer environmental problems, and higher efficiency.