Benefits and Challenges of Mechanical Spring Systems for Energy Storage Applications

Storing the excess mechanical or electrical energy to use it at high demand time has great importance for applications at every scale because of irregularities of demand and supply. Energy storage in elastic deformations in the mechanical domain offers an alternative to the electrical, electrochemical, chemical, and thermal energy storage approaches studied in the recent years. The present paper aims at giving an overview of mechanical spring systems’ potential for energy storage applications. Part of the appeal of elastic energy storage is its ability to discharge quickly, enabling high power densities. This available amount of stored energy may be delivered not only to mechanical loads, but also to systems that convert it to drive an electrical load. Mechanical spring systems’ benefits and limits for storing macroscopic amounts of energy will be assessed and their integration with mechanical and electrical power devices will be discussed.