New Investment Opportunity: Wind Catching Systems
Unleashing the power of offshore wind
- Massive, technologically advanced offshore wind platform dramatically reduces costs and footprint of sea-stationed alternative energy sources
- Early-stage product development, prototype to be completed in 2024, tested in 2025; forecasting commercialization by 2027
- Forecasting revenues of USD $35M-$45M per unit; license-based business model
- Global offshore wind energy market estimated to reach $82B by 2028
- $10M Series A round led by General Motors Ventures with participation from Ferd AS and North Energy ASA
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with your Investor Relations representative
Dear Josb,
The need for alternative energy sources is a top priority around the world as the price of electricity soars, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. But the transition to green energy has been slow, held back by cost, regulation and environmental concerns. Offshore wind turbines can be an excellent source of renewable energy but the real estate allotted for them is limited.
OurCrowd is investing in Wind Catching Systems, a Norwegian early-stage renewable-energy company looking to create a massive, floating, offshore wind turbine based on new technology which cost-efficiently produces power while significantly reducing the footprint. The details in this email are based on information received from, and verified solely by, the company.
The Problem
Floating offshore wind turbines have tremendous potential to produce green power, replacing fossil fuel sources. Nonetheless, governments are reluctant to designate real estate for turbine sites. Regulators prioritize shipping routes and marine conservation when earmarking open areas. To maintain a competitive edge in the alternative energy industry, offshore wind turbines must have a space-efficient technology.
The Solution
Wind Catching Systems is developing a new type of wind turbine, a multi-rotor turbine grid called the Windcatcher. Each unit takes advantage of the exponential power of wind speed, the multi-rotor effect which increases production, and its novel grid structure which allows for a larger swept area than conventional turbines. The technology has 2.5X energy extraction potential per square meter and 2.0X the swept area compared to a 15 MW wind turbine. Windcatchers are significantly more acreage efficient, producing five times the energy of conventional wind energy in 20% of the space. Each unit can produce enough electricity for 80,000 European households.
Windcatcher's maintenance services do not require specialized vessels or cranes. Two autonomous maintenance elevators enable the turbines to be maintained and repaired without having to take the entire structure offline.
Traction
Wind Catching Systems is a pre-revenue company now creating a smaller, pilot version of its full system scheduled to be completed in 2024 and tested in 2025. The company forecasts commercialization by 2027. The company will license its technology to energy developers and provide engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) to its customers. The company projects revenue of $35M-$45M per Windcatcher.
The Market
The total global offshore wind energy market is estimated to reach $82B by 2028, up from a global market revenue value of $31.2B in 2021. The floating offshore wind market, in its infancy today, is expected to reach 16.5 GW by 2030, and then grow sixteen-fold or more by 2050.
The Team
The team is led by CEO Ole Heggheim, former CEO of Aker Yards, the largest yard company in Europe. Co-founder Asbjorn Nes is the concept inventor. Ivar Knutsen, SVP Technical & Supply Chain, is an industry engineer with a background in marine systems design. Daniel Engelhart-Willoch, VP Industry and Government Affairs, is an industry expert formerly at the Norwegian Wind Industry Association. The CFO Ronny Karlsen has extensive experience from investment banking and private equity in the energy sector.
The Round
OurCrowd has a $1M allocation in this $10M Series A funding round led by General Motors Ventures with participation from existing investors Ferd AS and North Energy ASA.
Meet the CEO
Watch our investor briefing with CEO Ole Heggheim and his colleagues to learn more about Wind Catching Systems.
The Wind Catching Systems Solution
The Windcatcher maximizes power generation from a concentrated area and optimizes for acreage by producing the energy equivalent to five conventional floating wind turbines while using less than 20% of the space. The Windcatcher is a semi-submersible floater installed offshore, totaling 284 meters high and 345 meters across, with a 289-meter-longship base. 126 MW turbines assembled in a steel grid make up the Windcatcher's power production capacity, with each rotor measuring 30 meters in diameter. The Windcatcher has 126 MW capacity, capable of estimated annual production of around 350 GWh in the North Sea off Norway and more than 400 GWh in the high wind sites off California and Oregon.
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