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By Kyle Anthony, Benzinga
The adage, “Necessity is the mother of all invention,” connotes the idea that innovation is borne out of great need and that inspiration can arise from perilous times. With climate change and its ill effects being considered the greatest challenge of our time by many, VC-backed Qnetic Corporation, the mechanical energy storage system provider, has engineered a renewable energy solution that could potentially help pivot the world away from fossil fuels faster than previously thought.
Overshooting The 1.5°C Threshold, And The Pressing Need To Decarbonize The Grid
The State of the Global Climate 2023, published by the World Meteorological Organization, confirmed that 2023 was the warmest year on record. The global average near-surface temperature was 1.45° Celsius (with a margin of uncertainty of ± 0.12°C) above the pre-industrial baseline, making it the warmest ten-year period on record.
In 2015, 195 nations signed the Paris Agreement, a treaty aimed at tackling climate change. The agreement aims to limit global warming to "well below" 2°C by the end of the century and "pursue efforts" to keep warming within the safer limit of 1.5°C. While information about the disastrous effects of global warming has been extensively shared with the public, at this juncture, climate scientists do believe that overshooting the 1.5°C limit is fast becoming inevitable – meaning there’s very little time to act. Continuing to emit greenhouse gas emissions at the current rate will use up our carbon budget for 1.5°C warming in the next six to seven years.
Decarbonizing the electrical grid is among the most impactful measures to combat climate change. Such an action would reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity generation, traditionally dominated by fossil fuel sources such as coal, oil and natural gas. As estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in 2022, the electric power sector was the second largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 25% of the U.S. total.
Combating Climate Change With Innovation
Ending society’s reliance on energy generated from fossil fuels – the main cause of climate change – is a critical measure to tackling it. Qnetic’s flywheel technology is an example of innovation that could enable a complete rethink of renewable energy solutions.
A flywheel energy storage system (FESS) is a device that converts electrical energy into kinetic energy, achieving energy storage through mechanical methods. The company says FESS has numerous advantages, such as high power density, high energy density, no capacity degradation, ease of measurement of state of charge and almost no periodic maintenance required. Furthermore, flywheels are environmentally friendly, Qnetic says, as they contain no chemicals and are a scalable technology. FESS systems can be combined with renewable energy due to their fast response time, making them suitable for uninterrupted power to the grid.
While FESS technology has already been hailed by some as a good alternative to other energy storage solutions, Qnetic has taken the technology one step further. Qnetic says its technology is the first FESS for the grid at 1MWh unit capacity, which is significant compared to the typical 25kWh products that exist today. Qnetic also says its FESS device has an impressive discharge duration. Typical existing FESS discharge for around 15 minutes and can be as little as 120 seconds. However, Qnetic’s solution will be discharged for four to 12 hours, it says.
The firm’s FESS also allows for daily multi-cycling, which lithium battery operators typically cannot do because of degradation. This can translate to higher revenues for operators, who are able to capitalize on fluctuating energy demand throughout the day. All of these factors could make Qnetic suitable for bulk storage of energy at a utility scale, the company says.
Qnetic also reports its FESS enables more efficiency. The flywheel is optimally installed at the point of consumption, not the point of production, which reduces the issue of electricity loss during grid transportation (around 10% according to estimates compiled by Qnetic). In other words, Qnetic’s device gets the most out of its storage and could also help communities be more resilient during climate-related electricity shortages and grid outages, the company says. It also estimates that each flywheel has a lifespan of three decades, and is 50% cheaper than lithium-ion batteries over its lifecycle.
Perhaps the icing on the cake is that the technology is locally made (i.e., in the U.S.), which is particularly important, given the backdrop of increasing tariffs on resources coming out of China, as it is estimated that approximately 80% of lithium-ion’s critical mineral supply chains run through the nation.
Looking Forward
Combating climate change requires ongoing innovation. Qnetic’s mechanical flywheel technology seeks to provide a cleaner, more efficacious and forward-thinking approach toward renewable energy, thus potentially eliminating the environmental, economic and logistical limitations of lithium-ion systems.
For individuals interested in Qnetic’s growth story, their crowdfunding campaign on Wefunder provides an opportunity to participate in their business as they strive to help advance our modern society toward a sustainable energy ecosystem.
Featured photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash.
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