A Birmingham startup was selected for a contract to address critical Department of the Air Force challenges.
Accelerate Wind was selected by AFWERX for a $110,000 STTR Phase I contract, focusing on distributed rooftop wind technology, according to a LinkedIn update. Beginning this year, Accelerate Wind will focus on enhancing renewable energy applications in defense infrastructure.
The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018.
The Open Topic is the front door to working with the DAF. The Open Topic operates in a Phase I, followed by a Phase II and Direct to Phase II approach. Commercial industry submits their technology solutions in the proposal process and defines how they think their solution will benefit the warfighter. The Air Force then evaluates the proposal to determine if the project is something they would like to conduct a feasibility study on.
Accelerate Wind, originally a St. Louis-based startup, has a goal of developing affordable wind turbines for commercial buildings. It made the move to Birmingham after participating in Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator and receiving an Innovate Alabama grant.
CEO Erika Boeing said in a past interview with the BBJ that the company was born out of a realization that the solar market was expanding, especially on rooftops, but commercial building owners could not produce their entire energy demand from solar alone.
