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Sustainable Business

Energy transition to a full new design Cyclone Wind Turbine

The Belgian Wingardium Energy generates green electricity locally with American wind turbines that have less impact on the landscape and are easier to register for birds. The wind turbines can store (buffer) electricity themselves or deliver it to car charging stations.

One of the challenges surrounding wind energy is the storage of energy. Wind cannot be planned and neither can the need for power. So wind energy must be stored in a smart way and the Cyclone Turbines of the American company Kohilo do so with a unique hydraulic storage system. The Belgian Wingardium Energy links these American turbines to filling stations for electric vehicles.

Ludo Loyens, manager of Wingardium Energy and originally an electromechanic, became interested in the possibilities of sustainable energy after his retirement. "I saw that, in addition to the advantages, there were also quite a few drawbacks to wind turbines, such as cast shadow, which caused a lot of resistance to the expansion of wind farms. Turning windmills are also very dangerous for birds and bats. Through a personal search I ended up at the Cyclone wind turbines of the American company Kohilo".

Read also, in Dutch: a project to produce hydrogen from wind energy will start at the end of this year

These turbines do not have blades but work with a vertical wind axis that rotates more easily, even at low wind speeds. Loyens: "The turbines rotate at wind speeds of up to 1 metre per second and can also remain operational for longer at higher wind speeds of up to 56 metres per second. Normal mills switch off at a wind force of 38 meters per second".

Own hydraulic storage and electrolysis

The Cyclone turbines have versions that start at 100 Kilowatts and can produce up to 10 Megawatts of green power per year. They are wider and lower than traditional windmills, and designed so that the space under the turbine can be used for all kinds of purposes, such as filling stations for electric vehicles.

In order not to overload the electricity grid, the turbines store the green power themselves. Loyens: "The hydraulic storage system can store up to a maximum of 6 Megawatts  hours of wind energy. And when the electricity from the storage is consumed, it automatically switches to the electricity grid".

In addition to direct wind electricity, Wingardium's filling stations also supply hydrogen. Loyens: "The hydraulic storage is also the energy source for the hydrogen electrolysis system linked to the Wingardium turbines. In addition to charging stations for electric cars and bicycles, our turbines are also locally producing green hydrogen filling stations. The water we use for electrolysis is rainwater that we collect".

Charging bicycles

The American parent company Kohilo has been active with wind turbine projects in the United States, Canada, Israel, Brazil and the Philippines since 2009. In Europe, Wingardium-Energy is the sole distributor of the Cyclone wind turbine.

Two new projects from which Loyens expects a lot are the Icon-Box and the Vortex Station, two off-grid charging stations for electric bikes. These have been fully elaborated and can be placed with an assignment: "We have been active in Europe since 2017 and are now in talks with a number of Dutch municipalities and energy cooperatives about the placement of turbines and charging stations. People are curious".