CTE Awards Flywheel Grant to University of TX Center for Electromechanics
CTE Awards SHFCC Flywheel Grant to University of Texas - Center for Electromechanics
Atlanta, GA - October 1, 2009 - The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), an Atlanta-based nonprofit organization, has awarded the Southern Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Coalition (SHFCC) Flywheel Demonstration Seed Project Grant to the University of Texas - Center for Electromechanics (UT-CEM). Their proposal, "Assessment of Flywheel Technology Emerging from the Formula One Racing Community and its Benefits to the U.S. Transit Bus Market," seeks to evaluate the performance and cost benefits of Williams Hybrid Power's flywheel technology for heavy-duty vehicles in the US market.
Williams Hybrid Power Ltd. (WHP), located in England, has developed a novel, patented technology aimed at providing a cost effective, environmentally friendly solution for mobile energy recovery and storage in flywheels. A unique, patented feature is the Magnetically Loaded Composite, which in essence means that they can produce a wholly composite flywheel that integrates the magnets of the electric motor into the composite.This allows for a flywheel system that can be made significantly smaller and lighter than conventional flywheels, and also runs at very high efficiencies of between 97-99%.
The program objective is to determine if this new flywheel energy storage technology provides next-generation fuel cell transit buses with either improved performance or reduced operational cost, or both. The $25K collaboration between UT-CEM and WHP will consist of a 6-month project period with a proposed start date of October 1, 2009.
The SHFCC is funded through a cooperative agreement between the Federal Transit Administration and CTE. Formed in 2004 to supplement individual southern states' initiatives to grow and develop hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, the SHFCC focuses on the broader picture of southern regional resources and interstate collaborative opportunities to develop, demonstrate, and commercialize these technologies.Membership in CTE/SHFCC is open to any organization interested in advancing alternative transportation ideas, methodologies, or products. Members include universities, corporations, civic and nonprofit organizations, national laboratories, and a variety of transportation-related associates from across the country. For more information, please visit www.cte.tv.
