WILLIAMS F1: FUEL FOR INNOVATION

• 02 Dec 2009

Formula One™ team Williams F1 is using Thomson Innovation to explore how technologies developed for the high performance world of motor racing could be deployed into a range of industries.

The work requires exploration of various technologies through academic and scientific literature and intellectual property research. Team sponsor Thomson Reuters has become a valuable partner, providing comprehensive search capabilities and powerful analytical tools to the Team as quickly and efficiently as a pit crew.

At the Williams Technology Center in Qatar, General Manager Damien Scott says "technologies that have their origins in Formula One™ are being explored for commercial opportunities outside of motor sport. Intellectual property is an increasingly important part of that work and intelligent information is a real asset in understanding the global IP landscape." 

For example: Efficiency is a competitive advantage. Any extra performance one can gain from one milliliter of fuel will translate into less weight to carry round the track.

Energy storage is also one of the key enabling technologies for the transition to an economy that isn't wholly dependent on fossil fuels. Whether for electric vehicles, building management systems or stabilizing renewable energy grids, all require energy storage.

Technology that Williams Hybrid Power is developing provides very unique characteristics compared with other energy storage options like chemical batteries or ultra capacitors. There's no single solution for everything but each one will possess characteristics that make them better suited for some applications.

Flywheels can supply energy at very high power, have an incredibly long cycle life and can be easily recycled.  A flywheel connected to a wind turbine can stabilize output for much smoother, cleaner electricity, which consequently is a lot more valuable. If you were to use a chemical battery for the same purpose, where it is continually being charged and discharged, it would need to be disposed of within a year - neither cost-effective nor environmentally-friendly.  Learn more