Proposed design for storage of electrical energy in the form of flywheel rotation

In our efforts to move away from fossil fuels and towards forms of renewable energy there is the problem of a mismatch between the generation of energy and consumption of this energy. Current forms of storage consist of kinetic “ Pumped Hydro, Flywheel Rotation, Compressed Air, Lifted Weights or Chemical "Battery, Hydrogen, Ammonia, Methanol." All these forms have their advantages and disadvantages in the form of efficiency, environmental impact, use of critical materials, life time cycle, recycling raw materials.

The proposed design is a form of kinetic energy stored in flywheel rotation whereby the center axis is eliminated. This results in a design with reduced demand for not only raw materials but also low cost where as much energy is stored in the materials itself.

The design consists of 2 donut devices placed inside another. The inner donut is held in place by the magnetic forces rappelling from the permanent magnets placed on the walls both on the inside of the outer donut and the outside of the inner donut. These permanent magnets also aid in avoiding collapse of the structure as air is removed from the space between the inner and the outer donut to reduce friction. The inner donut is therefore suspended without a physical connection with the outer donut other than magnetic forces. The inside of the inner donut is meant to be hollow to hold a liquid (water) which can move to the outer wall as rotational speed increases thereby being able to absorb more energy, but reducing the total weight of the construction. The inner donut needs of course bulkheads to keep the liquid from remaining still so that energy can be absorbed. The inner top side of both the inner and the outer donut can be used to hold the electrical coils needed to add or subtract the electrical energy. This design would be low cost in the form of designing, manufacturing, life time cycle, degradation of materials used, recycling after end of life.

These devices can be placed in urban areas not only to store locally generated renewable energy but also as storage devices to reduce peak demand of the main grid. To mind come factories, data centers, solar parcs, one has to think of transportation stops where multiple vehicles need to be charged as fast as possible which cannot be supplied by the main grid infrastructure. The devices can be placed beneath buildings, parks or agricultural land with no impact on its current use. You could also think of ships whereby multiple units are placed at the bottom and could function not only as energy source but also ballast and have a gyro stabilizing effect.

In all as we move toward an all-electrical society storage becomes more important than ever!