{"id":688264,"date":"2025-09-01T02:05:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T23:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/britains-energy-grid-bets-on-flywheels-to-keep-the-lights-on\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T02:05:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T23:05:11","slug":"britains-energy-grid-bets-on-flywheels-to-keep-the-lights-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/britains-energy-grid-bets-on-flywheels-to-keep-the-lights-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain&#8217;s energy grid bets on flywheels to keep the lights on"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a32138e70add\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a32138e70add\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/britains-energy-grid-bets-on-flywheels-to-keep-the-lights-on\/#Flywheels_and_batteries\" >Flywheels and batteries<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/britains-energy-grid-bets-on-flywheels-to-keep-the-lights-on\/#Carbon-free_inertia\" >Carbon-free inertia<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/britains-energy-grid-bets-on-flywheels-to-keep-the-lights-on\/#%E2%80%98Not_fast_enough\" >&#8216;Not fast enough&#8217;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/keith-pullen-chief-tec.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/keith-pullen-chief-tec.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Keith Pullen, chief technical officer at Levistor, holds a flywheel inertia rotor at the company's workshop which can help bring stability to the electricity grid.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/keith-pullen-chief-tec.jpg\" alt=\"Keith Pullen, chief technical officer at Levistor, holds a flywheel inertia rotor at the company's workshop which can help bring stability to the electricity grid\" title=\"Keith Pullen, chief technical officer at Levistor, holds a flywheel inertia rotor at the company's workshop which can help bring stability to the electricity grid.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Keith Pullen, chief technical officer at Levistor, holds a flywheel inertia rotor at the company&#8217;s workshop which can help bring stability to the electricity grid.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Britain&#8217;s energy operator is betting on an age-old <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> to future-proof its grid, as the power plants that traditionally helped stabilize it are closed and replaced by renewable energy systems.<\/p>\n<p>Spinning metal devices known as flywheels have for centuries been used to provide inertia &#8212; resistance to sudden changes in motion &#8212; to various machines, from a potter&#8217;s wheel to the steam engine.<\/p>\n<p>Grid operators are now looking to the technology to add inertia to renewable-heavy electricity systems to prevent blackouts like the one that hit Spain and Portugal this year.<\/p>\n<p>In an electricity grid, inertia is <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly provided by large spinning generators found in coal-fired and gas power plants, helping maintain a steady frequency by smoothing fluctuations in supply and demand.<\/p>\n<p>But renewable energy sources like solar and wind power don&#8217;t add inertia to the grid, and usually cannot help with other issues, such as voltage control.<\/p>\n<p>Flywheels can mimic the rotational inertia of power plant generators, spinning quicker or slower to respond to fluctuations.<\/p>\n<p>Without rotating turbines, &#8220;the system is more prone to fluctuations than it would be otherwise,&#8221; explained David Brayshaw, a professor of climate <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> at the University of Reading in England.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As we get to ever higher levels of renewables, we&#8217;re going to have to think about this more carefully,&#8221; Brayshaw told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                        <!-- TechX - News - In-article --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Flywheels_and_batteries\"><\/span>Flywheels and batteries<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Iberian Peninsula, which is powered by a high share of renewables, went dark on April 28 after its grid was unable to absorb a sudden surge in voltage and deviations in frequency.<\/p>\n<p>Spain&#8217;s government has since pointed fingers at conventional power plants for failing to control voltage levels.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/an-engineer-works-on-a-1.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/an-engineer-works-on-a-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"An engineer works on a flywheel energy storage system at Levistor's workshop in southwest London.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/an-engineer-works-on-a-1.jpg\" alt=\"An engineer works on a flywheel energy storage system at Levistor's workshop in southwest London\" title=\"An engineer works on a flywheel energy storage system at Levistor's workshop in southwest London.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                An engineer works on a flywheel energy storage system at Levistor&#8217;s workshop in southwest London.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It could serve as a wake-up call similar to a 2019 outage which plunged parts of Britain into darkness following a drop in grid frequency.<\/p>\n<p>That blackout prompted UK energy operator NESO to launch what it called a &#8220;world-first&#8221; program to contract grid-stabilizing projects.<\/p>\n<p>Flywheels and batteries can add synthetic inertia to the grid, but engineering professor Keith Pullen says steel flywheels can be more cost-effective and durable than lithium-ion batteries.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not saying that flywheels are the only technology, but they could be a very, very important one,&#8221; said Pullen, a professor at City St George&#8217;s, University of London and director of flywheel startup Levistor.<\/p>\n<p>In the coming years, Pullen warned the grid will also become more unstable due to greater, but spikier demand.<\/p>\n<p>With electric cars, heat pumps and energy-guzzling data centers being hooked onto the grid, &#8220;we will have more shock loads&#8230; which the flywheel smooths out&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Carbon-free_inertia\"><\/span>Carbon-free inertia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Norwegian company Statkraft&#8217;s &#8220;Greener Grid Park&#8221; in Liverpool was one of the projects contracted by NESO to keep the lights on.<\/p>\n<p>Operational since 2023, it is a stone&#8217;s throw from a former coal-fired power station site which loomed over the northern English city for most of the 20th century.<\/p>\n<p>But now, instead of steam turbines, two giant flywheels weighing 40 tons (40,000 kilograms) each whirr at the Statkraft site, which supplies 1% of the inertia for the grid needed in England, Scotland and Wales.<\/p>\n<p>Each flywheel is attached to a synchronous compensator, a spinning machine that further boosts inertia and provides voltage control services in the Liverpool region.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/statkrafts-guy-nichols.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/statkrafts-guy-nichols.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Statkraft's Guy Nicholson stands by a flywheel at the firm's new Greener Grid Park in Liverpool, one of the projects contracted by the city to keep the lights on.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/statkrafts-guy-nichols.jpg\" alt=\"Statkraft's Guy Nicholson stands by a flywheel at the firm's new Greener Grid Park in Liverpool, one of the projects contracted by the city to keep the lights on\" title=\"Statkraft's Guy Nicholson stands by a flywheel at the firm's new Greener Grid Park in Liverpool, one of the projects contracted by the city to keep the lights on.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Statkraft&#8217;s Guy Nicholson stands by a flywheel at the firm&#8217;s new Greener Grid Park in Liverpool, one of the projects contracted by the city to keep the lights on.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;We are providing that inertia without burning any fossil fuels, without creating any carbon emissions,&#8221; said Guy Nicholson, Statkraft&#8217;s zero-carbon grid solutions head.<\/p>\n<p>According to NESO, 11 other similar synchronous compensator and flywheel projects were operational in Britain as of 2023, with several more contracted.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Not_fast_enough\"><\/span>&#8216;Not fast enough&#8217;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The government is &#8220;working closely with our industry partners who are developing world-leading technology, including flywheels, static and synchronous compensators, as we overhaul the energy system&#8221;, a Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson told AFP.<\/p>\n<p>But, &#8220;we aren&#8217;t building them fast enough to decarbonize the grid&#8221;, warned Nicholson.<\/p>\n<p>Britain aims to power the grid with clean energy 95% of the time by 2030, before completely switching to renewables in the next decade.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At the moment&#8230; we can&#8217;t even do it for one hour,&#8221; said Nicholson.<\/p>\n<p>Even when there is sufficient solar and wind energy being generated, &#8220;we still have to run gas turbines to keep the grid stable,&#8221; he explained.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Britain and neighboring Ireland seem to be ahead of the curve in procuring technology to stabilize renewable-heavy grids.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In GB and Ireland, the system operators are leading by contracting these services,&#8221; Nicholson said. &#8220;On the continent, there hasn&#8217;t been the same drive for that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think these things are driven by events. So, the Spanish blackout will drive change.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n                                                \u00a9 2025 AFP\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n                                                <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                Britain&#8217;s energy grid bets on flywheels to keep the lights on (2025, August 31)<br \/>\n                                                retrieved 31 August 2025<br \/>\n                                                from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-08-britain-energy-grid-flywheels.html\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                            This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n                                            part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n                                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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Britain&#8217;s energy operator is betting on an age-old technology to future-proof its grid, as the power plants that traditionally helped stabilize it are closed and replaced by renewable energy systems&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":688265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/keith-pullen-chief-tec.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-688264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/688265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}