US-based airborne wind turbine developer Altaeros Energies secured $7m in series A funding on Friday from telecommunications company SoftBank.
Altaeros, which spun out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010, is exploiting aerospace technology to place wind turbines in high altitude winds. Its airborne technology generates twice as much energy at up to 600 metres above ground as traditional tower-mounted turbines.
The technology, dubbed ‘buoyant airborne turbine’, is also able to lift other components such as telecommunications equipment into the air, using helium-filled inlfatable shells.
Altaeros sees energy supply for island and remote communities, mining, oil and gas, agriculture and disaster relief among possible sectors to be disrupted by the technology.
The company previously received funding from oil company ConocoPhillips through its Energy Prize, US Department of Agriculture, National Science Foundation, California Energy Commission, Maine Technology Institute, Massachusetts Clean Energy Centre, Cleantech Innovations New England, Alaska Energy Authority and RNT Associates to fund development of the technology.
Ben Glass, chief executive and chief technology officer of Altaeros, said: “SoftBank’s track record of business innovation, its commitment to increasing the deployment of renewable energy, and its successful partnerships with other top clean energy startups make it the perfect partner for Altaeros.”
– Photo courtesy of Altaeros Energies, Inc.