A global record is achieved by China's new $48 million flywheel energy plant in Changzhi, which uses 120 magnetically levitated devices to power a 30 MW grid.

Record-book editors had better be ready for another entry, thanks to kinetic energy battery researchers from China. According to Energy-Storage.News, the Dinglun Flywheel Energy Storage Power Station is claimed to be the largest of its kind, at least per the site's developers in Changzhi.

Interesting Engineering's Rupendra Brahambhatt added that this station is now connected to the grid, making it the largest operational flywheel energy storage facility ever built.

Ideally, flywheels use renewable electricity to turn or charge. To discharge, the wheels serve as a generator, converting the motion back into electricity. Some systems are paired with lithium-ion power packs for storage, as well, though Brahambhatt notes that flywheels themselves are attractive because they have a decades-long lifespan and don't require expensive metals that are needed for batteries.

The Dinglun units are made with magnetic levitation, a form of mechanical energy storage that is suitable for achieving the smooth operation of machines and providing high power and energy density. This means the units can store and discharge impressive amounts of energy, per the ScienceDirect description.

Construction of the Changzhi site began in 2023 at a cost of $48 million. It has 120 flywheels connected in groups to form a frequency regulation unit, according to PV Magazine. In total, the project is a 30-megawatt site. For reference, flywheel operations in New York and Pennsylvania were the biggest in the world, at 20 megawatts each, per Energy Storage News.