PROVIDENCE – Aquanis Inc. has received a $1 million Phase II SBIR grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a blade coating for wind turbines to mitigate damage from lightning, the company announced Wednesday.
The project would create a coating that would promote the formation of ionization channels over the blades, providing a safe path for the lightning to follow to the ground, thereby reducing damage to the blade.
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Blade damage from lightning is “one of the largest expenses for wind farm operators,” according the company.
“This blade coating breakthrough is an outgrowth of the research we have been doing as part of the development of our smart blade technology,” said Aquanis Founder and CEO Neal Fine. “We are thrilled that the DOE has recognized the promise it holds for solving one of the big challenges of the wind energy industry and has provided us with the resources we need to bring it to the market.”
The Small Business Innovation Research grant follows a $3.5 million grant from the Department of Energy last year for research into technology that would reduce the mechanical fatigue experienced by wind energy blades.
