The company said in a statement that it has achieved this via a significant improvement in the magnetic coupling and gearing system of Kinergy, a hermetically sealed, high-speed flywheel energy storage device.
Kinergy is based on a high-speed carbon-fibre flywheel, operating within a sealed vacuum chamber at speeds of up to 60,000rev/min.
Unlike current devices, in which energy is imported and exported via a drive shaft operating at flywheel speed, Kinergy transfers torque directly through its containment wall using a magnetic gearing and coupling system.
This enables the unit to be sealed for life, negating the need for high-speed seals and a vacuum pump, which in turn reduces costs and maintenance requirements.
According to Ricardo, the consequent weight and space-saving potential provides for a competitive packaging envelope, while the ability of the efficient magnetic coupling to incorporate a high gear ratio makes the input and export of torque more manageable than would be the case in a more conventional direct-driven high-speed flywheel design.
This first Kinergy prototype has resulted from an engineering development process intended to deliver the unit that will be at the core of the Flybus high-speed flywheel mechanical hybrid powertrain demonstrator vehicle. The Flybus project began in 2009, with the aim of demonstrating a viable alternative to battery-based hybrid buses.
‘This next-generation, cost-effective, high-energy-density flywheel system technology genuinely moves the state of the art forward, offering the prospect of effective mechanical hybridisation of low-carbon powertrain applications in all types of vehicles, from passenger cars to high-speed railway rolling stock,’ said Nick Owen, project director for research and collaboration at Ricardo UK.
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Where will all the raw materials come from for the manufacturing process? How will they be transported to the factory and what is going to be done with the various scrap and residues?