STTR Phase II: Ultra-thin Laminar Flywheels for Utility Scale Energy Storage

这项小型企业技术转让（STTR）第二阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是减少电动汽车快速充电器部署的电力基础设施瓶颈。通常，由于有限的电力供应或需求费用，安装高功率电动汽车快速充电器是昂贵的。一个大型的电动汽车快速充电器网络将减少电动汽车司机的里程焦虑，并加速整体交通的电气化。能量存储系统可以通过积累和快速释放能量，在一个地点的低功率可用性和高功率快速充电器之间建立一个“缓冲”，但传统的化学电池有一个有限的循环寿命，在高功率应用中退化得更快。另一方面，动力电池（如基于飞轮的电池）可以在不需要更换和没有危险副产品的情况下实现这一目标。模块化、经济高效的“缓冲器”可以部署在任何需要电动汽车快速充电器的地方和电力供应有限的地方。该STTR二期项目计划与商业合作伙伴一起，在一个350千瓦的电动汽车充电站中制造、测试和部署一个100千瓦时/ 400千瓦的模块化动力电池系统，以验证该系统是否可以作为一个插入式解决方案。该项目利用现有的低功率电网连接实现高功率、快速的电动汽车充电。该项目有三个基本目标：1)制造一个储能容量为100千瓦时、输出功率为400千瓦的动力电池模块；2)对动力电池进行严格测试，作为大功率电动汽车充电器的一部分；3)设计一个大功率交流同极电机/发电机，通过其绕组被动地为转子提供阻尼力。该动力电池系统采用被动稳定磁轴承系统，可以实现更大的模块尺寸（减少系统成本和运营费用的平衡），并且可以同步连接到电网，从而消除了对昂贵的电力电子设备的需求，并使其能够提供稳定电网的物理惯性作为辅助服务。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project is to reduce power infrastructure bottlenecks to the deployment of electric vehicle fast chargers. Typically, it is expensive to install high power electric vehicle fast chargers because of limited power availability or demand charges. A large network of electric vehicle fast chargers would reduce range anxiety among electric vehicle drivers and accelerate the electrification of transportation overall. Energy storage systems can be used to build a “buffer” between low power availability at a site and high-power fast chargers by accumulating and then rapidly discharging energy, but conventional chemical batteries have a limited cycle life which degrades faster in high-power applications. Kinetic batteries (such as those based on flywheels), on the other hand, could enable this without having to be replaced and without hazardous byproducts. Modular, cost-effective “buffers” could be deployed anywhere and everywhere an electric vehicle fast charger is required and where power availability is limited.This STTR Phase II project proposes to fabricate, test, and deploy a pilot 100 kWh / 400 kW modular kinetic battery system into a 350 kW electric vehicle charging station along with commercial partners to validate whether the system can act as a drop-in solution. This project enables high-power, fast electric vehicle charging utilizing the existing, low-power grid connections. This project has three basic objectives: 1) fabricate a kinetic battery module with 100 kWh energy storage capacity and 400 kW power output, 2) conduct a rigorous test of the kinetic battery as part of a high-power electric vehicle charger, and 3) design a high-power, alternating current homopolar motor/generator which can provide damping forces to the rotor passively via its windings. This kinetic battery system implements a passively stable magnetic bearing system which enables larger module sizes (reduces balance of system costs and operating expenses) and can connect to the grid synchronously, eliminating the need for costly power electronics and enabling it to provide grid-stabilizing physical inertia as an ancillary service.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.