Isra-Mart srl:David Brown to build NGenTec's cutting-edge wind turbine

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A spin-out from Edinburgh University has moved one step closer to bringing its light-weight wind turbine to market, after signing a multi-million pound deal with global gearing firm David Brown.

NGenTec today annouced it signed a partnership deal with Glasgow-based Clyde Blowers last night, which will see its subsidiary David Brown manufacture, test and assemble the first 1MW prototype of NGenTec's C-GEN direct drive turbine at the company's Huddersfield headquarters.

Under the terms of the deal, David Brown will receive an equity stake in NGenTec in return for providing its expertise. However, the companies refused to disclose the size of the stake, or the value of the deal. James Murray, NGenTec's business development manager, would only confirm the investment partnership represented "a multi-million pound deal".

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 demonstration turbine by 2012 with a view to bringing the machine to market by 2014.

Murray told BusinessGreen the company hopes to eventually use the design to build a turbine with 10MW capacity. "We have a machine that would scale up to that level," he said.

Derek Shepherd, NGenTec's founder and acting chief executive, added that the partnership will significantly bolster the company's position in the fast-expanding wind turbine market. "We see huge advantages to both parties in ensuring that NGenTec becomes the preferred supplier of direct drive generators to the offshore wind energy market, which in the UK is valued at £70bn over the next 10 years," he said.

The agreement also strengthens David Brown's position in the renewable energy sector, building on its 2009 deal to supply a gear system for Clipper Windpower's giant prototype Britannia offshore wind turbine.

NGenTec's 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.

The company claims the 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 slice breaks down, the others continue to work.

The agreement follows the announcement in December that NGenTec had secured £2m funding from Amsterdam-based SET Venture Partners and Scottish Enterprise's Scottish Co-investment Fund, as well as a grant of £800,000 from the UK Government's Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The latest deal was welcomed by energy minister Charles Hendry as a step towards making the UK a leading centre for research, development and deployment of offshore wind turbine technologies. "I am pleased that our support for NGenTec has resulted in a partnership with a global player that could lead to investment and jobs in the UK," he said.