Countries rely on fossil fuels for most of their energy, non-renewable sources. To reduce the usage of these fuels and support the protection of our environment, more countries have now taken up programs to encourage the use of renewable energy sources powered by batteries (such as solar panels and wind power).
What if you can’t rely on a stable electricity grid or don’t have the space to accumulate large amounts of batteries? Today’s world demands better alternatives for producing clean energy. Flywheel energy storage, provided by Amber Kinetics, is a practical solution that can be placed anywhere there is room for it.
Table of Contents
What Is Flywheel Energy Storage?
Flywheel energy storage is a method of storing rotational kinetic energy using a spinning mass. The spinning mass uses angular momentum to store this energy in the form of the rotational movement of the flywheel. The stored energy can be converted to electricity as an external load. Flywheel energy storage systems are sometimes called “electrical batteries” but are not chemical batteries.
Flywheel energy storage systems offer an attractive alternative to conventional chemical batteries, super-capacitors, or other energy storage systems for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and renewable energy integration applications. They offer lower life cycle costs, higher reliability, and longer life than battery technologies.
The Future Is Kinetic Energy Storage
Kinetic energy storage is a promising new technology that can provide cost-effective and environmentally friendly energy storage for renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power. Amber Kinetics has been developing and testing this technology since 2008 and is now ready to commercialize its flywheel devices.
Amber Kinetics has developed an innovative flywheel system with several unique features. Amber’s flywheels have the lowest Levelized cost of storage of any utility-scale energy storage device using low-cost materials and manufacturing processes. The flywheels can be stacked in a standard 40-foot shipping container. Amber’s patented magnetic bearing system requires no lubricating oil for long-term operation.
Due To Global Warming, We Need to Use Renewable Energy Sources With Battery-Based Storage
Kinetic energy is a form of energy stored in objects and converted into other forms of energy. Kinetic energy storage systems store and convert kinetic energy. Due to global warming, we need to use renewable energy sources with battery-based storage.
For example, wind turbines generate mechanical power from the wind, but it cannot be stored as it is produced at a very irregular rate depending on the weather. In contrast, kinetic energy storage systems have electrical power from the mechanical force created by the wind turbine through an electro-mechanical conversion process.
Safe and Recyclable
Kinetic energy storage is a safe and recyclable solution for storing clean energy for the grid.
The flywheel technology we use can last up to 30 years and be recycled easily at the end of its life. Our product is modular, scalable, and designed to be placed next to an existing turbine, requiring no new land or utility lines.
Because we can store a very large amount of energy in a tiny footprint, our kinetic energy storage is used in microgrids worldwide.
Efficient
The Amber Kinetics solution is highly efficient and cost-effective. The system can provide power for four continuous hours at an 88% round trip energy efficiency, or discharge half of its energy in 15 minutes, delivering 100 kW for 15 minutes or 50 kW for 30 minutes, at 82% round trip efficiency.
Scalable
Our unique flywheel system delivers a new dimension of flexibility in frequency regulation. From 1-100 MW and beyond, our installations can be placed anywhere, at any scale, to meet the needs of your grid.
Sustainable
Kinetic energy storage is sustainable, uses no fuel, has no emissions, and produces no waste.
No Chemicals
It doesn’t use any chemicals — no acid or lithium-ion batteries.
It has no moving parts except the spinning flywheel, so low maintenance costs.
No Hazardous Waste
Kinetic energy storage doesn’t produce any hazardous waste or require toxic materials in its operation and requires very little maintenance over its lifetime.
What Makes Amber Kinetics the Industry Leader
You want a greener, more cost-effective storage solution, but not all energy storage solutions are the same. Flywheels store kinetic energy with highly engineered flywheels, which can reach very high speeds with the insertion of an electric motor. The kinetic energy is then harnessed and converted into electricity.
The Amber Kinetics technology uses the four essential components of any flywheel system: rotor, bearings, motor/generator, and enclosure. The Amber Kinetics rotor is a heavy iron cylinder with four spokes that slides up and down on two rails inside the enclosure. The four spokes engage a pinion gear on a motor/generator. As the rotor spins up, power flows from the grid to the motor/generator and into the rotor as kinetic energy. The motor/generator reverses direction and becomes a generator to discharge, turning mechanical power from the spinning rotor into electricity supplied back to the grid.
Amber Kinetics led the way into the future of renewable and distributed energy storage, making flywheel energy storage mainstream and profitable. Our photovoltaic-friendly solution gives you a competitive edge with your current business strategy. With its proven performance in several applications, we have become an industry leader due to our technology and unique design features based on double barrel flywheels instead of rotors, high speeds instead of high forces, direct integration instead of a mechanical coupling, plus many other proprietary elements resulting in power and compact size.