Table 10.
Potential markets in the automotive sector.
| Potential markets | Market description | Market outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Motorsports | This is a niche market where HSF are used to supplement the ICE for additional power. This particular market environment (characterized by important R&D resources and pre-established sales deals) allowed several firms to develop, test, and refine the technology. As such, it functioned as a technology incubator. | HSF are well established in this market. Market growth could take place if this technology is allowed in new races, but growth potential appears insignificant as the market is saturated. |
| Buses | In this bridging market, HSF are used to recover braking energy of buses operating with stop-and-go driving cycles. HSF allow a strong increase in fuel efficiency (25–35%) and therefore a reduction of emissions. Furthermore, the additional power source can allow a downsizing of the ICE. | Compared to batteries and super capacitors, the long operational lifetime, the ability to absorb harsh charge-discharge cycles (innumerable full depth of discharge cycles), their relatively small size and light weight are considerable advantages of HSF. Several manufacturers target the market for buses with plans to roll out the technology in London (GKN, 2014). Future developments strongly depend on technology adoption by vehicle manufacturers. |
| Heavy and light-duty vehicles, trams and light-weight trains and off-highway machinery | Similar to buses, HSF are used to recover braking energy of stop-and-go driving cycles and of duty cycles in machinery (e.g. frequent on-and-off cycles). Furthermore, in some applications HSF are used to stabilize the onboard electricity grid, for instance in the case of light-duty vehicles equipped with additional machines such as in waste collection vehicles. | These markets are still in their infancy and to our knowledge no firm can at present rely on them for commercial success. As for buses, future market developments strongly depend on technology adoption by OEM manufacturers. |
| Cars | HSF can be used to dramatically improve the fuel efficiency of conventional internal engine powered cars (with fuel savings of 25–35%), particularly in urban environments (IHS Automotive, 2014). As such, micro-HSF represents a workable medium-term solution to comply with stringent emission regulations. In electric cars, they can be used to increase battery life-time and as a range extender. | In this market, HSF compete with battery-powered electric cars. This market has the largest potential market, but future developments strongly depend on the technological choices of car manufacturers (so far typically favoring battery-based solutions) and a related decrease in costs, the development of the oil price, and the demand for clean cars. Given the large-scale global investments in battery production and related significant decreases in production costs, it is unlikely that flywheels can compete in the mid and long-term. Another barrier is the safety issues related to production use, leading to high development costs because of mandatory crash tests. |