How does a flywheel energy storage system work?

Flywheel Energy Storage Systems (FESS) rely on a mechanical working principle: An electric motor is used to spin a rotor of high inertia up to 20,000-50,000 rpm. Electrical energy is thus converted to kinetic energy for storage. For discharging, the motor acts as a generator, braking the rotor to produce electricity.

What is a flywheel energy storage system (fess)?

The flywheel energy storage system (FESS) cooperates with clean energy power generation to form “new energy + energy storage”, which will occupy an important position among new energy storage methods.

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.

Are flywheel energy storages commercially available?

Flywheel energy storages are commercially available (TRL 9) but have not yet experienced large-scale commercialisation due to their cost disadvantages in comparison with battery storages (higher investment, lower energy density). Another challenge is the comparably high standby loss in FESS caused by the magnetic drag of the motor-generator.

Can a flywheel energy storage unit control frequency regulation?

To enhance the frequency regulation capability of the FESS, some frequency regulation control strategies for wind-power systems with a flywheel energy storage unit have been proposed (Peralta et al., 2018, Jia et al., 2022, Yulong et al., 2022, Yao et al., 2017).

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.