Caterpillar, the company known for its heavy industrial and mining equipment, entered the European and African markets for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) equipment last week at CeBIT, the technology show in Hannover, Germany.
The Cat UPS attracted a lot of attention at the show as it replaces batteries with a fast-spinning flywheel which stores energy. Such systems are not unknown, but are not in general use, despite being hailed in the 1970s as the answer to the world`s power and environmental problems.
The use of flywheels has been traced back to as early as the twelfth century and it came into general use as a method to ensure smooth power output with the invention of the steam engine.
Caterpillar says its 200kW to 600kW systems use a quarter of the floor space occupied by similar systems using batteries, can operate in a temperature band from minus twenty degrees to more than forty degrees Celsius. More importantly, the company says, its flywheel`s energy efficiency is better than 96% and it has a "nearly unlimited" lifespan without major servicing, making it more cost-effective in the long run.
According to Caterpillar, the flywheel can take up to one week to stop spinning in its vacuum-tight enclosure once power to it is cut.
The flywheel systems are not designed as backup power units but are being targeted as businesses that need low-maintenance clean power. Caterpillar is also bundling it with a diesel-powered generator, which is started with power supplied by the UPS while the flywheel also supplies bridging power.
The system was developed by Active Power, a company focusing on battery-free power solutions.
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