East Greenwich-based Aquanis, a 2015-born company that works to improve the aerodynamic properties of wind turbines (and therefore minimize the cost of wind energy), has received a $1 million Phase II SBIR grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The funds will go towards to developing a type of inexpensive, innovative blade coating that reduces lightning-catalyzed damages on turbine blades, a cost that that is considered one of the greatest for wind farm operators. In fact, a statement on the move said that "the industry is estimated to lose hundreds of millions of dollars annually to damage caused by lightning, and the problem is expected to worsen in the coming years."
Aquanis added that the work with blade coating was a "breakthrough."
“We are thrilled that the DOE has recognized the promise it holds for solving one of the big challenges of the wind energy industry, and has provided us with the resources we need to bring it to the market," said Aquanis Founder and CEO Neal Fine.
The move is indicative of more important development that will have powerful overall impacts on the industry.
“Wind is an increasingly important part of the nation’s energy mix, but the industry will only succeed if the cost of producing wind energy continues to come down,” said managing director of the Slater Technology Fund, Thorne Sparkman (the fund, along with UPC Capital Ventures, LLC, initially provided the company with $550,000 in seed funding). “Aquanis’ technology holds the promise of helping achieve this goal by reducing operating and maintenance costs and minimizing turbine downtime."
This not the first funding headline for Aquanis. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy awarded the company $3.5 million in funding.
Editor's Note: Aquanis was named one of Rhode Island Inno's 50 on Fire award winners in 2019.
