The distributed energy sector is “like the wild west,” said Julie Hetey.
But Aerovec, the Buffalo-based startup Hetey leads and co-founded, is trying to change that.
The business, with a team of five, aims to develop a compact wind turbine that’s integrated with energy storage and other types of renewable energy, as well as make the technology mobile.
“We need to create the technology first, then figure out ways to create it so we can drop-ship it anywhere in the world and have renewable forces of energy,” she said.
The company was founded in August 2022 after acquiring a patent that stemmed from local business Kean Wind Turbines. The patent was being evaluated by shareholders under a group called Newton Wind Tech. Both Kean and Newtonian are in the process of being dissolved, according to Hetey.
Aerovec is redesigning the technology and expects to have a prototype by July. The business is in the process of raising a series seed preferred shares round, targeting $1.2 million total by October.
So far, the business has closed on $178,000, the first round of the offering. The group previously raised $135,000 under Newton Wind, according to Hetey.
The funds raised will be divided into two phases. Phase 1 is continuing to develop its proof of concept, which includes continued research and any design changes needed. Phase 2 is having a full-scale prototype, getting certification and bringing on a few pilot customers to propel the company toward commercialization.
Hetey’s business strategy includes focusing on partnerships and breaking down the company’s go-to-market plan into phases.
The startup is part of Launch NY’s ECO Incubator and is working with one of its entrepreneurs-in-residence to potentially pitch to the nonprofit for funding. Aerovec is also in the middle of a two-year fellowship study out of Clarkson University to study the concept of the startup’s patent and has worked with the City University of New York as well.
“I don’t think that solving the renewable energy crisis and all the different mandates and goals we have between state, country and the world will be met by individual companies,” Hetey said.
The company is intentionally aiming to commercialize its compact wind turbine technology first and then move on to bring the mobilization technology aspect to market, she added.
“The faster we can start getting commercialization of that (compact turbine) while we’re working on phase 2 research and design, that will help sustain us,” she said.
This is Hetey’s fourth startup that she’s founded or co-founded. She worked for about a dozen years in technology development in the tech and medical sector. She was also an investor in Kean Wind before Aerovec started.
Aerovec’s other co-founders are Merrill Arthur, a mechanical engineer and retired owner of An-cor Industrial Plastics in North Tonawanda, and Seán Gartland, electrical engineer and former corporate vice president at Moog Inc.
Aerovec is the fourth local company to acknowledge a private, growth-oriented round of funding this year. The list includes Azuna ($486,000), Immunaeon ($600,000), Latte ($100,000) and Aerovec ($178,000).
