X1 Wind has been funded by ACCIÓ to carry out tests of a 1:50 scale model of our floating wind technology at Ecole Centrale in Nantes (France). The funding will also allow X1 Wind to simulate the performance of its innovative downwind solution with advanced CFD simulations to be carried out with an independent third party.

The tests carried out in February 2019 have allowed X1 Wind to validate our floating wind concept, showing an excellent performance under different sea conditions and completing another important milestone to bring our solution to the market. By testing at ECN Hydrodynamic and Ocean Engineering Tank, one of the largest European testing facilities and part of MaRINET2 Infrastructures Network, it was possible to simulate real sea conditions at 1:50 scale, including combined wind and wave conditions, extreme storm events as well as validating the passive self-alignment of our PivotBuoy® system. The results have confirmed the low motions and accelerations of our platform while reducing significantly the weight compared to other systems.

X1 Wind mission is to provide highly scalable solutions to reduce carbon emissions and provide affordable clean energy globally. In the last years, X1 Wind has validated the benefits of its disruptive floating wind technology, successfully completing the design and several testing campaigns and putting together a team of experts with decades of experience in the offshore wind and marine sectors. The company has been recognized as one of the cleantech start-ups with largest potential impact in Europe. 

ACCIÓ is the Catalan Government’s agency for enterprise competitiveness. Attached to the Ministry of Enterprise and Knowledge, it specializes in promoting business innovation and internationalization and has a network of 40 offices worldwide. ACCIÓ Startup Capital is a direct grant for emerging technological startups that require financing to set about the initial phases of the business, to develop their product or service and to validate the business model for accessing the market.

We are pleased to announce that we have joined the IEA Wind Task 40 regarding Downwind Turbine Technology!

The International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Technology Collaboration Programme is an international co-operation organization that promotes the research, development, and deployment of wind energy between the member countries. The member countries form a global network of research and policy experts that work on different R&D tasks, and each of them focuses on solving specific issues related to wind energy technology and deployment.

More than hundreds of onshore downwind turbines, and tens of fixed bottom offshore downwind turbines are operating in 2017. Several floating downwind turbines are demonstrating for evaluation. The objective of Task 40 is to coordinate international research, and to investigate the benefits of downwind turbine technology toward the reduction of levelized cost of energy (LCOE), as well as the proliferation of onshore and offshore wind plants. The Task is designed to capitalize on past experiences and recent demonstration results as well as recently developed computational capabilities. The focus will include onshore and offshore wind turbines with both floating and fixed bottom applications while investigating the relevant design conditions where downwind turbines might offer advantages. Key research aspects that will be studied include dynamic response, loads, controls, and impact on LCOE. The task will include a harmonized approach to assessing the LCOE of downwind turbines based on select baseline turbine models and methods accepted by the participants. Also, other specific objectives include identifying and solving technical issues relevant to downwind turbine design; innovating in wind turbine technology; or identifying and reshaping constraining national regulations.

The project is led by the Wind Energy Institute of Tokyo (WEIT), and within its development X1 Wind will be working closely with the other 12 participants, key players of the offshore industry: HITACHI, Aerodyn, NREL, CENER, Aist, Class NK, the University of Tokyo, Kyushu University, The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Massachusetts, University of Virginia and Fraunhofer IWES.

On July 5th, X1 Wind signed an agreement with InnoEnergy after completing a due diligence and negotiation process that started last February.

European sustainable energy promoter InnoEnergy will help X1 Wind continue the development of the innovative floating wind platform. Our next development phase involves the building and validation of our technology, including the design optimization, scaling-up, and testing of a larger prototype at ECN – Hydrodynamic and Ocean Engineering Tank through the MaRINET2 program.

By partnering up with InnoEnergy, X1 Wind will not only receive financial support but will also gain access to a large network of connections in the energy sector, mentoring, and in-kind services to accelerate our technology roadmap.

InnoEnergy is the biggest European company promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in sustainable energy. They support and invest in innovation at every stage of the journey – from classroom to customers. With their network of partners, they build connections across Europe, bringing together inventors and industry, entrepreneurs and markets, graduates and employers, researchers, and businesses. They work in three essential areas on the innovation mix: education, product innovation, and business creation.

Nuestra tecnología X1 Wind ha sido seleccionada para La Galería de Innovación de GENERA 2018, Feria Internacional de Energía y Medioambiente, que organiza IFEMA del 13 al 15 de junio.

GENERA 2018 ha destacado 19 proyectos por su aportación al desarrollo de las renovables y la eficiencia energética en España. Esta iniciativa está dirigida a la labor de investigación científica y tecnológica que llevan a cabo las organizaciones públicas y privadas y la actividad innovadora de las empresas del sector.

Los proyectos han sido seleccionados por un jurado formado por expertos, profesionales y representantes de las principales asociaciones del sector, atendiendo a su grado de innovación, su eficiencia energética, su aplicabilidad y su capacidad para influir positivamente en el progreso de las energías renovables y de la eficiencia energética.

Ademas de X1 WIND, la Galería de Innovación de GENERA 2018 ha seleccionado otros 3 proyectos eólicos innovadores de ACCIONA Energía, EOLION y NABLADOT.

¡Les esperamos en la Feria! Pueden consultar más información en:

http://www.ifema.es/genera_01/

X1 Wind has been recently awarded with a Phase 1 funding of the H2020 SME Instrument program in order to advance in the development of its disruptive floating wind technology. The project has been selected among more than 2,000 proposals submitted in last call in February 2018, proving the quality of the proposal.

Alex Raventos, CEO of X1 Wind, expressed the importance of this achievement for the company: “This support from the European Commission will allow us demonstrate the advantages of X1 Wind over existing solutions”.

X1 Wind is currently in contact with potential industry partners for developing a demonstration project to prove the concept in real conditions at sea planned for the next phase.