- Title: Could 'wobbly' wind turbines power future homes?
- Date: 26th May 2021
- Summary: EL FRESNO, SPAIN (RECENT - MAY 21, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS TIMELAPSE FOOTAGE OF 2.75 METRE BLADELESS TURBINE IN FIELD (MUTE) VARIOUS OF VORTEX BLADELESS CO-FOUNDER DAVID YANEZ CARRYING MAST OF 2.75 METRE BLADELESS TURBINE DRONE FOOTAGE OF YANEZ CARRYING MAST OF BLADELESS TURBINE (MUTE) VARIOUS OF YANEZ FITTING MAST OF BLADELESS TURBINE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CO-FOUNDER OF VORTEX BLADELESS AND INVENTOR OF BLADELESS WIND TURBINE TECHNOLOGY, DAVID YANEZ SAYING: "My name is David Yanez, I am co-founder of Vortex Bladeless and inventor of the technology we are developing, a new wind turbine known as a bladeless turbine." DRONE FOOTAGE OF YANEZ FITTING MAST OF BLADELESS TURBINE (MUTE) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CO-FOUNDER OF VORTEX BLADELESS AND INVENTOR OF BLADELESS WIND TURBINE TECHNOLOGY, DAVID YANEZ SAYING: "In fact, it is very similar to other wind turbines, but instead of rotating or spinning, in this case it oscillates. What it does is it collects the kinetic energy of the wind and transforms it into electricity. It is a very simple machine, slender, vertical, we moved it away from the ground so that the wind speed is as high as possible. It is such a simple machine that, above all it, optimizes maintenance costs." DRONE FOOTAGE OF YANEZ FITTING MAST OF BLADELESS TURBINE (MUTE) .(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CO-FOUNDER OF VORTEX BLADELESS AND INVENTOR OF BLADELESS WIND TURBINE TECHNOLOGY, DAVID YANEZ SAYING: "What we want is to try to find a niche that is not properly covered by conventional wind power. The niche that in principle we see could be small wind industry, because the absence of maintenance, no need for oil and the low cost could be the elements that make this idea a useful tool for distributing energy, producing energy close to the point of consumption. And then, in the long term, maybe the off-shore wind industry. This technology could have an advantage because of the fact it does not have elements that can be rusted by humidity or salt, and maybe this space could be the most suitable for it." VARIOUS OF 2.75 METRE BLADELESS WIND TURBINE IN FIELD (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CO-FOUNDER OF VORTEX BLADELESS AND INVENTOR OF BLADELESS WIND TURBINE TECHNOLOGY, DAVID YANEZ, SAYING: "For all those urban centres that do not have as much solar resources as Spain and the whole Mediterranean area, the urban environment seems to fit perfectly with this idea. The fact it does not produce noise, the visual impact is subjective, but there are those who consider that it could have some attraction, better than those of the conventional wind industry, and above all this, the fact that it has no maintenance costs or hardly any, is something very valuable." AVILA, SPAIN (RECENT - MAY 21, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF YANEZ TURNING ON SMALL WIND TUNNEL AT VORTEX'S OFFICE SMALL 85 CENTIMETRE BLADELESS TURBINE IN OPERATION INSIDE SMALL WIND TUNNEL LED LIGHT CONNECTED TO SMALL 85 CENTIMETRE BLADELESS TURBINE TURNING ON LED LIGHT YANEZ OBSERVING BLADELESS TURBINE EXTERIOR OF UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA WHERE VORTEX BLADELESS HAS ONE OF THEIR WIND TUNNELS EUROPEAN, SPANISH, CASTILLE AND LEON AND AVILA FLAGS FLUTTERING IN THE WIND UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA COAT OF ARMS VARIOUS OF SMALL 85 CENTIMETRE BLADELESS TURBINE ON UNIVERSITY'S ROOFTOP ANEMOMETER AND SMALL BLADELESS TURBINE IN THE BACKGROUND (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CEO OF VORTEX BLADELESS, RODRIGO RUPEREZ, SAYING: "Anyone who installs a solar panel at home can also use our Vortex devices. Why is that? Because they work silently and because they do not require maintenance, so they are suitable for urban environments and of course in isolated environments, traffic signals, the multitude of sensors that use electricity, we think that there is a niche market that so far has not been developed." LIGHTS TURNING ON AT UNIVERSITY'S WIND TUNNEL WHERE LARGE 2.75 METRE TURBINE IS TESTED VARIOUS OF WORKER OF VORTEX BLADELESS JORGE FITTING MAST OF 2.75 METRE BLADELESS TURBINE YANEZ AND VORTEX TEAM MEMBER OBSERVING BLADELESS TURBINE IN OPERATION INSIDE WIND TUNNEL BLADELESS TURBINE IN OPERATION FANS SPINNING VARIOUS OF YANEZ AND RUPEREZ AT WIND TUNNEL FANS SPINNING YANEZ AND RUPEREZ LEAVING WIND TUNNEL / LIGHTS TURNING OFF
- Embargoed: 9th June 2021 10:18
- Keywords: Spain Vortex Bladeless bladeless wind turbine bladeless windmills renewable energy wind energy wind turbine
- Location: EL FRESNO AND AVILA, SPAIN
- City: EL FRESNO AND AVILA, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Environment,Europe,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001EELKDWB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: David Yanez, co-founder of the start-up Vortex Bladeless, is the inventor of the bladeless wind turbine, a slender vertical and simple piece of machinery that instead of rotating or spinning, oscillates collecting the kinetic energy of the wind and transforms it into electricity at approximately 30% of the cost of conventional wind energy sources, he said.
"What we want is to try to find a niche that is not properly covered by conventional wind power," Yanez said standing next to an oscillating 2.75 metre bladeless prototype set up in the countryside near Avila, Spain where Vortex Bladeless has its base.
"The niche, that in principle, we see could be small wind industry, because the absence of maintenance, no need for oil and the low cost could be the elements that make this idea a useful tool for distributing energy, producing energy close to the point of consumption."
Watching a video of the 1940s Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse in the United States, Yanez, as an engineering student in 2012, got his inspiration for his invention as he watched the bridge oscillate in a storm.
In 2015 approximately, Vortex Bladeless was born and since then Yanez and his team have been working to develop the bladeless turbine with the hope of commercializing it.
Their original design has since evolved and currently they are working with prototypes that measure 2.75 metres and 85 centimetres which are aimed at being used in urban centres.
Vortex Bladeless wind turbines can be used on their own or in conjunction with solar panels.
During the day and when there is not very much wind, solar panels could provide energy. And in the evening, when the wind picks up, the bladeless wind turbine could step in providing energy around the clock, Yanez explained.
"For all those urban centres that do not have as much solar resource as Spain and the whole Mediterranean area, the urban environment seems to fit perfectly with this idea," Yanez said.
"The fact it does not produce noise, the visual impact is subjective, but there are those who consider that it could have some attraction, better than those of the conventional wind industry, and above all this, the fact that it has no maintenance costs - or hardly any - is something very valuable," he added
CEO Rodrigo Ruperz added that the company's current prototypes can also be useful in isolated environments.
"They are suitable for urban environments and of course in isolated environments, traffic signals, the multitude of sensors that use electricity, we think that there is a niche market that so far has not been developed," he said speaking at the University of Salamanca where a small 85 cm prototype is installed on the roof of one of the buildings.
In the long-term, Yanez's hope is that his invention can be used in the off-shore wind industry.
"This technology could have an advantage because of the fact it does not have elements that can be rusted by humidity or salt, and maybe this space could be the most suitable for it," he said.
Currently Vortex Bladeless has five patent families internationally and Yanez estimates that with a suitable investor they could commercialize their prototypes in 12 to 18 months.
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