Amber Kinetics crossing my screen today was a reminder that electricity markets are littered with technologies that never quite die. Flywheels are one of those ideas. They are mechanically elegant, grounded in physics everyone understands, and they solve a real problem in principle. Store energy in a spinning mass, pull … [continued]
An test installation at the of a 16 kW/64 kWh flywheel system at the Meralco Power Tech Lab to serve as a proof-of-concept and testing site. (Photo from Meralco)
Seven months ago, Tina Casey wrote about the comeback of kinetic energy storage systems, pointing to renewed investment and attention after years of being overshadowed by batteries. Her piece, “$200 Million For Renewables-Friendly Flywheel Energy Storage,” captures a shift that has been building quietly: flywheels are no longer a niche … [continued]
The US startup Torus Energy combines the ancient principles of flywheel technology with 21st century battery chemistry in one advanced energy storage system.
From technologies for extracting rare earth elements from plants to advanced membranes for water filtration, and from vertical-axis wind turbines to next-generation, long-lived flywheel energy storage, innovators bring exciting ideas to the fourth cohort of West Gate—NREL’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program. “We are supporting the vast landscape of energy technologies that … [continued]
The Sun Has Set on Another Round of the American-Made Solar Prize, Awarding Two New Solar Startups for Their Innovations
In a recent article, we found that curtailment of renewables may be cheaper than grid scale energy storage. Sometimes, the simplest solution is the best solution. However, given the complexity of electrical grids around the world, we should also look at all of the available solutions to make sure we … [continued]
A month ago, SK Innovation announced it was investing $1.67 billion in a battery manufacturing plant in Georgia. This week, it says it is upping that amount to $5 billion. Things are moving fast in the EV revolution these days.
Energy secretary Rick Perry travelled to Kodiak Island last week to learn more about how the second largest island in the US manages its microgrid, which includes two flywheel storage units from ABB.
Amber Kinetics and Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) announces the installation of the world’s first commercially available, four-hour flywheel energy storage system at a power generation site on Oahu, Hawaii.
A new bill has been introduced in the US Senate and House of Representatives that could boost energy storage markets. The US Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act is a bill which focuses on tax credits for both residential and business systems. Martin Heinrich, a Democratic New Mexican Senator, put … [continued]
