It started with drawing on a napkin. AirLoom Energy has now raised $12.7 million in new funding, according to TechCrunch.
The funding came from 21 investors, which are not named, according to a regulatory filing. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
This Wyoming-based startup is taking a novel approach to wind power. Rather than installing giant turbines atop towers more than 100 meters high, vertical blades will be attached to cables that run along oval tracks just 25 meters (82 feet) above the ground. The company wants to generate electricity for $13 per megawatt hour, more than 50% cheaper than traditional onshore wind power.
The idea for the race track configuration was inspired by founder Robert Lumley's hobby of kiteboarding. He first sketched the concept on a napkin during a wind energy conference in Berlin.
Much of the expected cost savings is due to AirLoom's lower profile. Today's wind turbines are becoming larger and more efficient, but their huge towers and blades are difficult to transport and sometimes require up to a year of advance planning. AirLoom's parts are small, making it easy to manufacture, move, and assemble on-site.
AirLoom last raised $4 million in a seed round in November from Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital and MCJ Collective, and also appointed Neil Rickner, formerly COO of Alphabet Inc.'s Makani Energy, which was looking to harness wind energy kits, as its new CEO.
In November, Lickner told TechCrunch that the company's next step is to hone the technology to the point where it can build a 1-megawatt pilot, which was targeted for 2026. The new funding will likely help finance that project.