Flywheel energy storage systems are feasible for short-duration applications, which are crucial for the reliability of an electrical grid with large renewable energy penetration. Flywheel energy storage system use is increasing, which has encouraged research in design improvement, performance optimization, and cost analysis.
The main components of a flywheel energy storage system are a rotor, an electrical motor/generator, bearings, a PCS (bi-directional converter), a vacuum pump, and a vacuum chamber . During charging, the rotor is accelerated to a high speed using the electrical motor.
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.
Flywheel energy storage (FES) works by accelerating a rotor (flywheel) to a very high speed and maintaining the energy in the system as rotational energy.
The net energy ratios of steel and composite flywheels are 2.5–3.5 and 2.7–3.8. The GHG emissions of steel and composite flywheels are 75–121 and 49–95 kg CO 2 eq/MWh. Flywheel energy storage systems are feasible for short-duration applications, which are crucial for the reliability of an electrical grid with large renewable energy penetration.
A flywheel operates on the principle of storing energy through its rotating mass. Think of it as a mechanical storage tool that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy for storage. This energy is stored in the form of rotational kinetic energy.