Beacon Power Corp., a provider of energy storage systems has established a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency to produce parts of a flywheel energy storage over a period of two years.
The contract between the two companies is estimated at $2.8 million, out of which Beacon will contribute with $560,000.
The project aims to provide four times more storage at a relatively insignificant cost per kilowatt-hour compared to Beacon’s current flywheel system. The flywheel is now being developed and deployed on the grid, but the company hopes the new product will be a success.
The advanced flywheel could be used for a variety of applications. One way in which in can be used is to provide storage for solar and wind power. The aim is to generate renewable energy assets and to use less fossil power.
[Source: Solar Thermal Magazine]
