This paper presents an overview of the flywheel as a promising energy storage element. Electrical machines used with flywheels are surveyed along with their control techniques. Loss minimization and bearing system development are introduced. In addition, power system applications of flywheels are summarized.
A: Flywheel energy storage works by converting electrical energy into rotational energy by spinning a rotor. The rotor is then able to store this energy until it is needed, at which point it can be converted back into electrical energy. Flywheel energy storage is a promising alternative to traditional battery storage systems.
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.
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.
Due to their simple design and frictionless characteristics, flywheel systems can reach very high efficiencies of 70-95%, where only a small fraction of the energy is lost during storage.
They are also less potentially damaging to the environment, being largely made of inert or benign materials. Another advantage of flywheels is that by a simple measurement of the rotation speed it is possible to know the exact amount of energy stored.