Flywheel Energy Storage System as a Fully Automatic Charging Station

The FlyGrid prototype. Image source: Energie Steiermark By Falko Schoklitsch In the form of "FlyGrid", a project team led by TU Graz presents the prototype of a flywheel storage system that can store electricity locally and deliver it using fast-charging technology. Innovative charging and storage solutions have become much more important due to the growing availability of renewable energies such as solar, wind and hydro power and the increases in the field of electromobility. They are intended to store power generation surpluses for those times when renewables are not supplying electricity, in order to increase grid stability and to provide an adequate charging infrastructure. With FlyGrid, a project consortium consisting of universities, energy suppliers, companies and start-ups presents the prototype of a flywheel storage system that has been integrated into a fully automated fast charging station, thus enabling the improved use of local volatile sources. After several months of laboratory testing of FlyGrid at the University of Leoben, the flywheel storage system has now been put into operation at Energie Steiermark, where it can be further improved under real conditions. The prototype's buffer storage has an energy content of five kilowatt hours and offers a charging capacity of 100 kW.