Beacon Power, has secured a commitment for $25 million in new funding from three of the company's previous investors. Good going, considering the company has reported just under $1 million in revenue in 2006, against a $12 million loss. So you wonder why the have such faith in this company and its technology . . . why not make a relatively safe investment in global equity, with at least some non-dollar denominated assets?

Those investors may well be betting on the Smart Energy 25 flywheel pictured here , which can be batched together to provide what Beacon Power calls a "Smart Energy Matrix" to generate megawatts of power. My general views on flywheels are (and yes, please feel free to contradict me with comments !);

i) At the backup/auxiliary power level, they're closer to commercial viability than fuel cells
ii) They have environmental and some performance benefits over batteries; mainly that they are non-toxic, have higher temperature tolerances and longer lifespans - perhaps as much as 20 years.
iii) As modular technology, they are more scaleable - i.e. just add another and another, and another . . .
iv) Their energy density as measured by watt hours per kilo is slightly inferior to a conventional lithium ion battery - 130 wh as opposed to 160 wh per kg.
v) Flywheels have a cult following not unusual in certain energy technology circles - it can be summarised as;

THIS IS THE ULTIMATE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING !