Research and modelling of energy management strategy in a community microgrid using supercapacitors in connection with a flywheel

The massive integration of intermittent renewable energy sources into community microgrids poses major challenges in terms of dynamic stability, power reliability and energy efficiency. Conventional energy management strategies, mainly based on electrochemical batteries, have structural limitations related to their low power density, accelerated aging and environmental impact. In this context, this paper proposes an innovative hybrid energy management strategy based on the functional combination of distributed supercapacitors and a community flywheel, without the use of batteries. A detailed mathematical modelling of the community microgrid is developed, explicitly integrating peer-to-peer flows, physical constraints of storage devices and energy losses by the Joule effect. Based on this, a hierarchical energy management strategy is designed, in which the supercapacitors ensure the rapid compensation of power fluctuations, while the flywheel ensures overall energy balancing and medium-term stability. The proposed framework is evaluated in MATLAB/Simulink through comparative simulations involving battery-only, supercapacitor-only, flywheel-only, battery-supercapacitor, and supercapacitor-flywheel configurations. Within the considered 10-prosumer radial microgrid, the proposed strategy achieves lower simulated Joule losses, lower grid exchange, and improved power-smoothing performance than the selected benchmark cases. These findings are conditional on the adopted component parameters, centralised control architecture, network topology, and 24-hour operating profiles; therefore, they should be interpreted as simulation-based evidence rather than as universal performance guarantees.