XFlow
XFlow Energy is developing robust, inexpensive, and efficient vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) technologies focused on reducing the cost of wind energy generation. This is possible due to XFlow Energy’s unique rotor design which eliminates the structural failure modes common in VAWTs while simultaneously maintaining high efficiency and low manufacturing costs. XFlow Energy’s long-term target market is utility-scale VAWT arrays with an disruptive low levelized cost of energy. Repowering and augmentation of existing horizontal-axis turbine arrays and smaller-scale VAWTs for remote and distributed wind applications have been identified as promising initial markets.
Co-founders Ian Brownstein and Ben Strom draw on years of experience researching vertical-axis turbines. Ian is completing his PhD at Stanford focusing on optimizing VAWT arrays with Prof. John Dabiri. Over the course of this work, Ian has worked with VAWT in the field for over four years, including witnessing the structural failure of existing commercial VAWTs firsthand. Ben Strom is completing his PhD at the University of Washington where he has worked to maximize power output on multiple flow energy projects, including optimization of vertical-axis turbine control and rotor geometry.