Vicoma spent five years developing a spectacular flywheel for S4 Energy. This makes it possible to temporarily store energy with large capacities and high efficiency. The special feature of this project is that our engineers provided the tooling to build and maintain the flywheel in the field with high precision.
Project: flywheel offers new perspectives
The flywheel offers new perspectives for energy companies and grid operators, among others. Working with S4 Energy’s design team, Vicoma tackled this challenging task.
Vicoma’s role: design requires precision
Part of the assignment was to build a special furnace for manufacturing the steel flywheels. The diameter of these is 2.80 metres and they put 5,000 kg on the scales. To safely spin this weight at full speed on this diameter, a special manufacturing method is required. The required tools and equipment were designed by Vicoma’s engineers. After all, production requires the utmost precision. The entire assembly process for one flywheel takes 100 hours! Vicoma also developed a special foundation for balancing each flywheel. This makes even the smallest imbalance measurable. Tools for service purposes are also made by Vicoma. These tools make it possible to change bearings, for instance. Those tools can be powered by cordless drills if necessary, so that service is possible in all conditions.
Result: successfully deployed
The flywheels are now being assembled in small series at various locations in the Netherlands, and the required tooling is being used successfully.
