Isra-Mart srl:NGenTec speeds towards market with light-weight turbine

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University spin out poised to announce major manufacturing partner for direct drive 6MW wind turbine technology
Jessica Shankleman, BusinessGreen.

A spin out from Edinburgh University could play a major role in developing the UK's next wave of offshore wind farms, after the company announced that it has completed a £2m funding round and partnered with a major global manufacturer to accelerate the development of its light-weight wind turbine technology.

Derek Shepherd, founding chairman and acting chief executive of NGenTec, told reporters at a laboratory tour yesterday that he is on the brink of signing a Memorandum of Understanding with an unnamed industrial partner, which will allow the company to build a 1MW prototype version of its C-GEN direct drive turbine.

"We have an industrial partner which is a huge global manufacturing company, who has aspirations in wind but do not have anything in the generator side," Shepherd said, adding that the prototype could be completed as early as July next year.

He also announced that the company has secured venture capital funding on top of the £800,000 government grant the firm bagged earlier this year, taking its latest funding round to £2m.

Shepherd declined to name the new partner or the venture capital firm that has led the funding round, but promised that further announcments will be made next month.

The C-GEN wind turbine uses direct drive technology that allows it to dispense with a gear box, making it easier to install and maintain than conventional wind turbines.

NGenTec claims that its design is 50 per cent lighter than existing direct drive machines and uses permanent magnets formed into rings, or "slices", that make it easier to assemble than existing technology.

This modular design will also reduce the amount of downtime, according to NGenTec, because if one slices breaks down, the others continue to work.

The company hopes that this will become a key selling point for developers of offshore wind farms, who sometimes have to wait weeks or even months for a suitable weather window to fix a broken machine.

After the 1MW C-GEN has been installed next year, NGenTec has the option to use the same manufacturer to build a full size 6MW demonstrator by 2012, and hopefully bring the machine to market by 2014.

"We're using a big industrial company for their procurement, for quality control, but more importantly the warranty," he said. "It works. They're a company that builds highly engineered units, they've a world class reputation and they're also a route to market."