Floatable Flywheel Energy Storage

The need for energy storage solutions (ESS) is enormous as the ESS are a critical asset for the entire grid. Our unique concept of the Floatable Flywheel Energy Storage Solution (FloFly) is based on the transformation of surplus electric energy (wind, solar, hydro, etc.) to the kinetic energy of rotor rotating on a water surface during the energy overproduction and getting back to the grid during the energy demand. Due to the scalability of this concept, it could be possible to store a large amount of electricity (in MWh and more), save the already produced energy, financial resources and to provide support in the area of grid balancing, which is tightly connected to energy security. As the proposed concept uses only natural resources - water as a hydrodynamic bearing and water as a rotating mass, it is environmentally friendly, thus leading to a significant reduction of GHG and supporting renewables. Moreover, the proposed concept would significantly contribute to the worldwide vision of a sustainable, stable, flexible, and manageable energy system of a new generation. Finally, the FloFly concept has the potential to be outstandingly cost-effective and applicable in every European Union country as a long-term vision. Such technology is a missing element in the evolving renewable energy market, where competing solutions are expensive (Pumped Hydro ES) or environmentally unacceptable (chemical batteries). However, the concept is actually just in a form of multidisciplinary experts’ visionary idea. The final goal of this project is to transform this vision into a functional laboratory model.