Carriers, Storage, & Transformation

Electrical Storage

Electrical Energy Storage Using Flywheels

M. Stanley Whittingham^a1

^a1 Binghamton University, USA

Flywheel energy storage systems use the kinetic energy stored in a rotor; they are often referred to as mechanical batteries. On charging, the fywheel is accelerated, and on power generation, it is slowed. Because the energy stored is proportional to the square of the speed, very high speeds are used, typically 20,000–100,000 revolutions per minute (rpm). To minimize energy loss due to friction, the rotors are spun in a vacuum and use magnetic bearings. The rotors today are typically made of high-strength carbon composites. One of the main limits to fywheels is the strength of the material used for the rotor: the stronger the rotor, the faster it can be spun, and the more energy it can store.

M. Stanley Whittingham can be reached at the Department of Chemistry and Materials, PO Box 6000, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902–6000, USA; tel. and fax 607–777–4623, and e-mail stanwhit@gmail.com.

Whittingham is a professor of materials science and director of the Materials Science Program and Institute for Materials Research at the State University of New York at Binghamton. Whittingham received his BA and PhD degrees in chemistry from Oxford University, working with Peter Dickens. In 1968, he joined professor Robert A. Huggins' research group in the Materials Science Department at Stanford University as a postdoctoral research associate to study fast-ion transport in solids. In 1972, Whittingham joined Exxon Research and Engineering Company to initiate a program in alternative energy production and storage. After 16 years in industry, he joined the Binghamton campus of the State University of New York as a professor of chemistry to initiate an academic program in materials chemistry. His recent work focuses on the synthesis and characterization of novel microporous and nano-oxides and phosphates for possible electrochemical and sensor applications. Whittingham was principal editor of the Journal Solid State Ionics for 20 years. He also was elected a fellow of the Electrochemical Society in 2004. In addition, Whittingham was awarded the Young Author Award of the Electrochemical Society in 1971, a JSPS fellowship in the Physics Department of the University of Tokyo in 1993, and the Battery Research Award of the Electrochemical Society in 2002.