Voltalia to test flywheel prototype at French Guiana storage complex

French renewable power producer Voltalia SA (EPA:VLTSA) has signed a partnership deal with start-up Energiestro to deploy a prototype of its energy storage solution.

Voltalia will try and test Energiestro’s 10-kW/10-kWh flywheel at the Toco energy storage complex in French Guiana. The renewables company began construction of the larger portion of this 12.6-MW/14.2-MWh complex earlier this month.

Energiestro’s goal is to significantly reduce the cost of energy storage by using cheaper materials. It has developed a flywheel that uses prestressed concrete rather than steel or carbon fibre to store kinetic energy.

“This partnership will allow us to try and test our technology in an industrial context, before considering a larger-scale deployment,” commented Anne and Andre Gennesseaux, co-founders of Energiestro.

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