Bearing technology advances with Teraloop

Business Finland, Teraloop and Aalto University have launched BESTrotors, a new research and development project focused on improving the reliability, resilience, and commercial performance of its high-speed flywheel energy storage systems. The project is supported by Business Finland and delivered in collaboration with Aalto University. Work is now underway.

Flywheel energy storage relies on extremely fast-spinning rotors operating in magnetic suspension. While this enables frictionless operation and high efficiency, long-term commercial deployment demands exceptional fault tolerance and system robustness. BESTrotors addresses two of the most critical enabling technologies at the heart of this challenge: backup bearings and rotor position sensing .

Developing next-generation backup bearings

In fault scenarios such as power loss or control interruption, backup bearings protect the rotor and surrounding components. Current commercial solutions provide basic safety but can still lead to rotor damage, lengthy downtime, and expensive repairs.

BESTrotors will develop a new air-bearing-based backup bearing system capable of safely containing the rotor, minimising friction and thermal loads during deceleration, and — crucially — enabling system restart without disassembly or component replacement. This approach has the potential to reduce downtime from weeks to hours, significantly improving system availability for customers.

Custom position sensors tailored to Teraloop’s systems

Accurate rotor position sensing is essential for stable magnetic levitation and efficient control. Existing off-the-shelf sensors are not optimised for Teraloop’s operating environment and can suffer from noise sensitivity, integration challenges, and high cost.

Through BESTrotors, Teraloop will design and prototype bespoke position sensors, optimised specifically for high-speed, non-grounded rotors operating in vacuum conditions. The new sensors will deliver improved signal-to-noise performance, higher accuracy, and reduced cost, strengthening both technical performance and commercial competitiveness.

From research to commercial impact

Over the course of the project, Teraloop and Aalto University will progress from technical scoping and simulation through laboratory testing, functional prototyping, and full system-level validation. The outcome will be a flywheel system equipped with advanced sensing and backup bearing technologies, ready to be transferred into future commercial products.

Beyond Teraloop’s own systems, the technologies developed in BESTrotors have potential applications in aerospace, robotics, wind energy, vacuum machinery, and other high-speed rotating systems, reinforcing Finland’s position as a leader in clean-energy and advanced mechanical engineering.

By reducing downtime, lowering maintenance costs, and strengthening IP, BESTrotors directly supports Teraloop’s mission to deliver robust, sustainable, and economically compelling energy storage solutions for industrial and grid-scale customers.