Abstract:Energy storage systems (ESS) provide a means for improving the efficiency of electrical systems when there are imbalances between supply and demand. Additionally, they are a key element for improving the stability and quality of electrical networks. They add flexibility into the electrical system by mitigating the supply intermittency, recently made worse by an increased penetration of renewable generation. One energy storage technology now arousing great interest is the flywheel energy storage systems (FESS), since this technology can offer many advantages as an energy storage solution over the alternatives. Flywheels have attributes of a high cycle life, long operational life, high round-trip efficiency, high power density, low environmental impact, and can store megajoule (MJ) levels of energy with no upper limit when configured in banks. This paper presents a critical review of FESS in regards to its main components and applications, an approach not captured in earlier reviews. Additionally, earlier reviews do not include the most recent literature in this fast-moving field. A description of the flywheel structure and its main components is provided, and different types of electric machines, power electronics converter topologies, and bearing systems for use in flywheel storage systems are discussed. The main applications of FESS are explained and commercially available flywheel prototypes for each application are described. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research.

Energy storage systems (ESS) are key elements that can be used to improve electrical system efficiency by contributing to balance of supply and demand. They provide a means for enhancing the power quality and stability of electrical systems. They can enhance electrical system flexibility by mitigating supply intermittency, which has recently become problematic, due to the increased penetration of renewable generation. Flywheel energy storage systems (FESS) are a technology in which there is gathering interest due to a number of advantages offered over other storage solutions. These technical qualities attributed to flywheels include high power density, low environmental impact, long operational life, high round-trip efficiency and high cycle life. Furthermore, when configured in banks, they can store MJ levels of energy without any upper limit. Flywheels configured for grid connected operation are systems comprising of a mechanical part, the flywheel rotor, bearings and casings, and the electric drive part, inclusive of motor-generator (MG) and power electronics. This contribution focusses on the modelling and simulation of a high inertia FESS for energy storage applications which has the potential for use in the residential sector in more challenging situations, a subject area in which there are few publications. The type of electrical machine employed is a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) and this, along with the power electronics drive, is simulated in the MATLAB/Simulink environment. A brief description of the flywheel structure and applications are given as a means of providing context for the electrical modelling and simulation reported. The simulated results show that the system run-down losses are 5% per hour, with overall roundtrip efficiency of 88%. The flywheel speed and energy storage pattern comply with the torque variations, whilst the DC-bus voltage remains constant and stable within ±3% of the rated voltage, regardless of load fluctuations.

The use of diesel generators to provide power for islanded grids has been the technology of choice but they generate substantial carbon emissions unless the part or all the fuel comes from a renewable source. Notwithstanding this, the engine must be sized to meet maximum demand and will operate inefficiently at part load most of the time, which is particularly bad for a synchronous constant speed engine. Given the availability of low cost solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, it is very enticing to fit a diesel generator and allow the engine to be turned off during PV generation. However, this combination will not work without some form of energy storage since it takes time for the engine to start, leading to gaps in supply and instability of the system. Lithium-ion batteries are typically considered to be the best solution to this problem because they have a high response rate, costs are lower, and they are available as products. However, they will suffer from the limited cycle and calendar life due to high cycling requirements in the application described. It is, therefore, proposed that a flywheel system could offer a lower lifetime cost alternative since only short duration bridging power storage is needed and flywheels of appropriate design can offer lower power cost than Lithium-ion battery systems. Flywheels are particularly attractive since they have a very high calendar with almost an infinite cycle life and are fully recyclable at the end of life. This research, therefore, presents an assessment of the flywheel energy storage system (FESS) as an alternative to electrochemical batteries to supplement solar PV systems backed up by diesel generators. The model of an islanded PV system combined with a diesel generator and a FESS supplying power to a residential load is implemented in MATLAB/Simulink. The results of the analysis for the cases with and without storage based on a number of different charge-discharge strategies provide evidence to support this hypothesis.

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Aerodynamic drag and bearing friction are the main sources of standby losses in the flywheel rotor part of a flywheel energy storage system (FESS). Although these losses are typically small in a well-designed system, the energy losses can become significant due to the continuous operation of the flywheel over time. For aerodynamic drag, commonly known as windage, there is scarcity of information available for loss estimation since most of the publications do not cover the partial vacuum conditions as required in the design of low loss energy storage flywheels. These conditions cause the flow regime to fall between continuum and molecular flow. Bearings may be of mechanical or magnetic type and in this paper the former is considered, typically hybridized with a passive magnetic thrust bearing. Mechanical bearing loss calculations have been extensively addressed in the open literature, including technical information from manufacturers but this has not previously been presented clearly and simply with reference to this application. The purpose of this paper is therefore to provide a loss assessment methodology for flywheel windage losses and bearing friction losses using the latest available information. An assessment of windage losses based on various flow regimes is presented with two different methods for calculation of windage losses in FESS under rarefied vacuum conditions discussed and compared. The findings of the research show that both methods closely correlate with each other for vacuum conditions typically required for flywheels. The effect of the air gap between the flywheel rotor and containment is also considered and justified for both calculation methods. Estimation of the bearing losses and considerations for selection of a low maintenance, soft mounted, bearing system is also discussed and analysed for a flywheel of realistic dimensions. The effect of the number of charging cycles on the relative importance of flywheel standby losses has also been investigated and the system total losses and efficiency have been calculated accordingly.