The UK’s Lancaster University says that a student has found a way to update the design of modern flywheel energy storage (FES) systems.

Engineering student Abigail Carson redesigned an energy storage solution. Image source: Lancaster UniversityThird-year mechanical engineering undergraduate Abigail Carson developed an FES design that stores energy kinetically in a levitated floating mass. The rotor, which can be made from composites such as carbon fiber, is permanently levitated as opposed to electromagnetically and requires no additional control mechanisms, maintenance, or user input. A smart telemetry set (monitoring equipment) would be included.

The FES power rating, which has the potential to reach the MW range, can be adjusted by use of simulations and calculations. Although with the initial aim of rotating at 100,000 rpm, Carson’s figures show her design can easily rotate at 144,000 rpm without any adjustment. Many existing designs can spin at around 60,000 rpm.

The football-sized unit may be used for domestic uses but its potential can be scaled up to industrial applications through a stacking approach that would use many units together on the same network to provide a larger energy store. Using multiple individual units means that if one was affected, the whole system would not need to shut down.

The lifespan of the FES is around 30 years, which is much longer than that of batteries, says Carson.