Following a meeting of the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA, Ferrari and Renault have submitted low-cost proposals for a return to the sport of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), which is out of use this season due to a universal agreement between teams.Introduced in 2009 season, KERS allowed drivers to enjoy a brief horsepower increase in order to aid overtaking or even avoiding it. The added horsepower is produced by braking energy stored in batteries, although Williams F1 which developed a revolutionary flywheel-powered device which costed anything in the region of 8 to 20 million pounds.
However, the Grove team's Technical Director Sam Michael has now revealed to Reuters that the system could return.
"Basically, Ferrari and Renault put forward proposals that they could do KERS for less than a million euros (£870,000 approx). Those have been accepted but what Ferrari and Renault are both saying is that, unless we increase the energy level from the current 400 kilojoules up to 600 or 800 - to make KERS more beneficial - they are not prepared at this stage to commit that they will actually do KERS."
In addition, Williams F1 has confirmed that it has purchased the majority shareholding in Williams Hybrid Power (WHP), with the figure increasing from 40 to 78 percent. The partnership began in March 2008 when Williams bought shares in Automotive Hybrid Power - a Norfolk-based company dealing in revolutionary composite flywheels, to be used with the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) - with the firm later being renamed to Williams Hybrid Power.
Chairman of WHP and CEO of Williams F1, Alex Burns commented:
"I am delighted that we have now taken a larger stake in Williams Hybrid Power. This agreement means that the business has the funding it needs for the development of a family of MLC flywheels to suit a range of applications in the automotive and other industries. I am confident that WHP will continue to deliver value to its customers and develop into a substantial, successful business."
Although, a re-introduction of KERS in F1 hasn't yet been confirmed, Williams plans to promote the technology in automotive soon. Most recently KERS flying wheel will be fitted to Porsche's new 911 GT3 R Hybrid road car. Ahead of its Nordschleife debut in May, the Porsche debuted in Nico Hulkenberg's hands, with the German praising the flywheel as "fascinating technology." Williams is also developing the system for Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover and it will be available for use in buses, trains, ships and wind power generation.
