Amber Kinetics Philippines Inc. said Wednesday it is in the final stages of completing a second manufacturing facility for long-duration Kinetic Energy Storage System that will support the growth of renewable energy in the country.
The local unit of Amber Kinetics of the US operates a manufacturing facility in the First Philippine Industrial Park in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.
“We estimate that the facility will be completed by the end of the year. [Our] capacity will be doubled from about 600 to 700 [flywheels]. When it is fully operational, we will produce 1,800 to 2,000 flywheels per annum. We are very excited about this industry,” said Amber Kinetics director of business development for the Philippines Roberto Kanapi.
A flywheel is a rotating device which stores kinetic energy. The flywheel does not contain nor emit any hazardous materials over its design lifespan of 30 years. The modular system is suitable for applications such as capacity or demand reduction and ancillary services.
The company invested $150 million to $160 million in the Philippines.
The KESS features a power capacity of 8 kilowatts and a discharge duration of four hours. Amber Kinetics said it uses recyclable steel materials to provide a more sustainable energy solution.
“We are already putting up pilot projects. Meralco [Manila Electric Co.] is already one of them…The biggest advantage is many of our themes are related to sustainability,” Kanapi said.
Amber Kinetics and Meralco are pioneering a pilot project that will allow the power distributor to test and demonstrate Amber Kinetics’ FESS at the Meralco Power Tech center as part of initiatives to explore new and clean energy technologies.
Amber Kinetics also established Flywheel Innovation Hub—a demonstration facility for flywheel technology at the De La Salle University-Laguna Campus.
“If our plants would need to produce more, we can expand more. The facility we are developing now is huge and expandable,” Kanapi said.
He said the company is in talks with the Razon Group, Shell Philippines and San Miguel Corp. for their battery storage needs. “RE will not really be efficient without energy storage to back it up,” Kanapi said.
“The world is making a clear shift towards renewable energy, and Amber Kinetics is here to keep the Philippines connected to emerging energy developments,” Kanapi said.