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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, September 1, 2010
Tech across New England
FloDesign prepared to break out in wind turbine tech industry
By Mass High Tech staff
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FloDesign Wind Turbine corp.
Location: Waltham, Mass.
Web: www.fdwt.com
Phone: 781-609-4700
Date founded: 2007
CEO: Lars A. Andersen
Industry: Wind turbines based on aerospace technology for use in smaller, non-traditional turbine locations.
Testing is under way on a prototype of the “shrouded” wind turbine developed by FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp., which the company says is the world’s first turbine to integrate an aerospace technology known as a mixer ejector. One of the first potential customers to discuss siting one of the turbines is the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan Airport. The turbine promises to deliver three to four times the energy of a traditional turbine for the same size rotor, allowing the turbines to be located in places turbines haven’t been able to go before.
In January, the company announced that it it had received $34.5 million in a Series B round from return backer Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers, as well as new investors Technology Partners, VantagePoint Venture Partners and a Goldman Sachs managed investment fund. The company had received a $6 million Series A round in June 2008 from Kleiner. Last October, the company was awarded an $8.3 million grant as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E).
From the top, CFO Matthew Commons: “This is a fundamentally different approach to what’s been done before. (The turbines) could be closer to populated areas, closer to system load. We think they’re a good fit for the Northeast.”
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