EAST GREENWICH – Aquanis Inc., which develops technology for the wind-energy industry, has changed its name to Arctura, the company announced, as part of a rebranding initiative.
“As we have continued to grow and advance … we needed to align our name more closely to our core value proposition, which is to drive the expansion of wind energy by maximizing wind-turbine performance and lowering costs,” said Arctura CEO Neal Fine in a news release. Fine said the Arctura brand is fresher and more modern. The rebranding includes a new website and logo.
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Founded in 2015, the company aimed to reduce the cost of wind energy by improving the aerodynamic performance of wind turbines. Fine said he used $550,000 of seed capital from the Slater Technology Fund and UPC Capital Ventures, the UPC Energy Group’s venture capital division, to launch the company. More than $5 million in additional funding was raised in non-dilutive grants for technology development purposes.
Arctura also received $3.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E, or Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, in 2018. The money was used to develop an active lift control system that allows wind turbines to react more quickly to wind changes, a project that began in the spring of 2019.
In August of 2019, the company was awarded a $1 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a coating for wind-turbine blades that can reduce lightning damage. Showing promise, the project is in the comprehensive beta-testing phase, getting ready for commercialization.
At the start of this year, the company was awarded an additional $600,000 from ARPA-E to support the development of a floating offshore wind turbine concept, part of a larger effort led by the University of Texas at Dallas.
“With our new brand identity and our innovative technologies that have been refined and tested, Arctura is well-positioned to continue our mission of securing a sustainable energy future that is affordable and accessible,” Fine said.
Susan Shalhoub is a PBN contributing writer.
