Ricardo’s TorqStor high speed flywheel energy storage technology has been selected to receive the SAE Tech Award, as one of the top five technologies to be on display at the SAE World Congress 8-10 at the COBO Center, Detroit.

The Tech Award recipients were announced today by the editors of Automotive Engineering magazine, based on engineering innovation, uniqueness, potential for real-world production application and potential benefit for industry customers and end users.

The TorqStor is an advanced flywheel energy storage system, storing energy that would otherwise be wasted through parasitic losses or braking, and returning that energy to the drivetrain when needed, providing improved fuel economy.

Ricardo’s TorqStor technology combines a modular, high efficiency, carbon-fiber composite construction flywheel with a magnetic coupling and gearing system to provide for a scalable range of energy storage capacities for different equipment applications. Its innovative magnetic coupling also enables the unit to operate in a permanently sealed vacuum and permits ease of in-field maintenance for high availability applications.

The pre-production prototype TorqStor units are based on a 200 kJ energy storage capacity with a peak power rating of 101 kW and internal flywheel speed of approximately 44,000 rev/min (subject to a total gear ratio of 22:1). The unit is compact, with a package volume of only 221 liters, and lightweight, at less than 100 kg excluding the interfacing hydraulic pump/motor. The TorqStor is suited for applications with a repetitive duty cycle, such as a loader or excavator, or with start/stop cycles, such as with a commuter train or city bus.