MORRISVILLE — Windlift, the Triangle-based engineering and computer programming company focusing on airborne wind energy (AWE), has raised $160,000 in new capital. And the firm wants another $100,000.
The news came through a SEC filing.
Two investors are part of the latest fundraiser, which started earlier this year and included a $50,000 close in January.
The company is hiring as well with more than 10 jobs listed at its website.
Windlift raised $125,000 in a debt raise in late 2018.
Developed by founder Robert Creighton in 2004, its wind system allows unmanned aerial vehicles to harvest electricity anywhere there is wind, both onshore and offshore.
On land, the system’s airborne wind energy is either transported by trailers or kept in place. The offshore system gathers wind through anchored buoys.
The benefit of AWE, according to Creighton, is that it generates sustainable energy at one tenth of the cost of traditional wind energy systems.
“Windlift is a good alternative to offshore wind farms, because they are not visible from shore,” Creighton told WRAL TechWire last year, explaining that systems like turbines have caused controversy in the past.
“The cost of installation is also significantly cheaper than turbines currently being used.”
APGs operate on the same principles as traditional wind turbines,
but use only 5% of the materials.
Notes Windlift:
“APGs operate on the same principles as traditional wind turbines, but use only 5% of the materials …
“The wind propels the aircraft at high speed, providing airflow to on-board turbines and generators from which electricity
flows down the conductive tether to a ground station for storage and distribution.”
According to its website, the company has received $2.3 million in funding from the US Army and Marine Corps. The company said it is currently raising funds to transition into off-shore power generation.
