What are flywheel energy storage systems?

Using energy storage technology can improve the stability and quality of the power grid. One such technology is flywheel energy storage systems (FESSs). Compared with other energy storage systems, FESSs offer numerous advantages, including a long lifespan, exceptional efficiency, high power density, and minimal environmental impact.

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.

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 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.

How does a flywheel work?

After charging, the energy is stored as kinetic energy and maintained in standby mode by allowing the flywheel to spin for as long as possible, minimising any restrictive forces to the rotation. When the energy is needed, the flywheel can then transfer the kinetic energy back to electrical energy via the machine [ 128 ].