Farm-sized vertical axis wind turbine

Client: AeroGenerator Limited– UK 2017
Engineering and fluid dynamics: Cranfield University
Power engineering : Bosch Retrox

Designers: Jonas von Stedingk Industrial Design

This project established the engineering principles and viability for this particular type of vertical axis wind turbine, whilst at the same time designing a mid/low power commercial product which could later be scaled up.   The power ratings 11kW – 30kW were explored, corresponding to the needs of farm- or community-based power requirements.

As part of the R&D team, Jonas von Stedingk ID’s role was to work in parallel with the engineering development team to ideate the principles that would make the turbine into a marketable product and feeding the results up-stream to the team.  It involved assessing planning permission criteria, ease of site access with minimum machinery, minimising disturbance to the site ecology, minimising embodied carbon through avoidance of large concrete bases and finding a range of applications for the product.