Levistor GridBoost

A flywheel spinning inside a roadside charging station could deliver enough power to charge an electric car in minutes rather than hours. The problem is straightforward: the existing electricity grid cannot supply the surge of power needed for ultra-fast charging. Upgrading the grid itself would be prohibitively expensive. This project has developed a flywheel energy storage system that sits at the charging point, stores energy slowly from the grid, and then releases it rapidly into the vehicle. The system is designed to be safer and more environmentally friendly than lithium-ion batteries. If this succeeds, the impact would be on the infrastructure that quietly underpins electric vehicle adoption. Drivers could recharge on long journeys as quickly as they now refuel with petrol. That would remove one of the biggest practical barriers to switching away from fossil-fuel vehicles. The technology is now being prepared for industrial-scale demonstration with a network of partners and customers.