Our team's carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced carbon fiber composite system enables substantially improved flyhweel specific energy (kW-hr/kg) in the near term and long term that enables many NASA energy storage and power management applications especially when coupled with very reliable high speed low-loss bearing systems (e.g., Balcones Technologies high temperature superconducting magnetic bearings). The prime space applications are those where long term (greater than five years) operation, extremely low losses, and high reliability are at a premium. The energy density and cycle life of 100,000 cycles of the flywheel rotor for this system greatly exceeds that of available battery technology, leading to a lower cost over the life of the device. Applications that could benefit from this technology range from satellites, to long term space labs like the ISS, to lunar colonies, or explorations. Terrestrial applications include community energy storage systems, power and energy management, and backup for launch facilities or data centers. The technology can also be applied to high altitude long endurance air vehicles which could support NASA's Airborne Science, Atmospheric Composition and Radiation Sciences, Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry, and Applied Sciences programs as well as the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). Our team's carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced carbon fiber composite system enables substantially improved flywheel specific energy (kW-hr/kg) in the near term and long term that enables many commercial energy storage and power management applications especially where long life (greater than five years) operation and load leveling, extremely low losses, high stability and high reliability capabilities are at a premium. There are numerous existing commercial applications where battery developers are struggling to meet the requirements, including the large installations required for windmill farms, large solar installations, and support of micro grids. The proposed CNT reinforced composite technology is critical in enabling flywheels to address those markets. However, our primary near term focus is the use of flywheel energy storage to enable a solar powered high altitude long endurance (HALE) air vehicle to stay aloft for an indefinite period of time for a wide range of commercial, space, and military applications. Astral Infiniti's research indicates that a high energy density flywheel is an enabling technology due to its improved performance over available battery technology and the ability to directly convert rotating flywheel motion to propeller motion. HALE can be used to replace cell phone towers in urban and rural areas and provides a lower cost alternative to satellites that are used to broadcast radio, television, and internet communications.
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