What is a flywheel energy storage system?

Flywheel energy storage is a mechanical energy storage system that utilizes the kinetic energy of a rotating mass, or flywheel, to store and release energy. Flywheels store energy by spinning a heavy rotor at high speeds. When excess electricity is available, the motor accelerates the flywheel, converting electrical energy into kinetic energy.

How can flywheels be more competitive to batteries?

The use of new materials and compact designs will increase the specific energy and energy density to make flywheels more competitive to batteries. Other opportunities are new applications in energy harvest, hybrid energy systems, and flywheel’s secondary functionality apart from energy storage.

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.

Which countries are adopting flywheel energy storage technology?

China, South Korea, Japan, India, and the Philippines are largely adopting flywheel energy storage technology owing to its high efficiency and long service life advantage. The high demand for continuous electricity and rising investments in storage technology drive the market growth.

Are flywheel-based hybrid energy storage systems based on compressed air energy storage?

While many papers compare different ESS technologies, only a few research , studies design and control flywheel-based hybrid energy storage systems. Recently, Zhang et al. present a hybrid energy storage system based on compressed air energy storage and FESS.

Why are high-strength steel flywheels a good choice?

High-strength steel flywheels have a high energy density (volume-based energy) due to their high mass density. Furthermore, they are superior to composite ones regarding thermal conductivity and design data availability, such as SN curves and fracture toughness.