Williams acquire Automotive Hybrid Power

April 28, 2008

Autosport.com is reporting that the Williams Formula One team have have acquired a minority stake in Automotive Hybrid Power Limited, a company developing high-energy composite flywheels for use in energy recovery systems.

The move comes ahead of the expected introduction of the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) in the sport from next season.

Automotive Hybrid Power is developing a flywheel for potential use next year, although the team said they are exploring a number of energy storage options.

The Hybrid Power system is based on a flywheel rotating at speeds of up to 100,000rpm that would capture this energy for later release.

“High-energy flywheel technology is a challenging field of engineering,” said team co-owner Patrick Head.

Posted in Williams