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AUTOMOTIVE SWEDEN
NEWSLETTER
Electrifying the winds of change
Over 250 years ago, Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning contains an electric charge by flying a kite with a metal rod at one end and a key at the other during a thunderstorm. Today, Dawn R. White and her company Accio Energy are flying a different kind of kite into a different kind of thunderstorm, but they're proving the same thing.
The technology is advanced and the process complex. But in layman's terms, Accio Energy is developing controllable "thunderstorms" to harvest electricity. Accio Energy's technology has the potential to create wind turbines that are less expensive per produced watt than traditional wind turbines with all of their propellers, gear boxes and generators. This new type of wind turbine is also much more robust because there are so few movable parts.

Forgotten technology rediscovered
"This technology was developed in the 1960s and 1970s, and then was forgotten again by the 1980s. Now it's time to rediscover it," says White. The method hinges on flat panels that spray an electrically charged mist of water while wind is blown through them. The water mist carries a positive electric charge and the negative charges are collected in the panel and conducted downward to produce electrical energy. The water is pressed out of the panel as mist via a pump that can, with existing technology, be powered by wave energy. Where there is wind, there are waves, which is why this type of device works well at sea. The only thing that is visible is a large panel spraying mist. The panel can be rotated to optimally utilize the wind. At a wind speed of 12 meters per second, this technology yields 300 watts per square meter.

Nosing out the solution
At their laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Accio Energy is creating a prototype to develop their technology. Wind is created through a "wind tunnel" that is stationed behind a flat panel. One of the biggest challenges they are facing is finding the right technique to create the exact size of water droplets they need. They're working with a number of different nozzles and are currently testing the type of nozzle used in nasal sprays.

 
Wanted: Swedish partners
The project is being financed by the State of Michigan and by private investors. Plans are now underway to enlarge the device and test the technology at full scale. The production of this type of device is well-suited to an automotive manufacturing environment. Detroit has expertise in large-scale, high-quality mass production, and the flat panels share a lot of similarities with the radiators in automobiles. The project is right in the middle of an exciting phase of development, and White has expressed an interest in collaborating with Swedish companies. Not only because we are experts at high-voltage direct current transmission technology, and not only because family ties have given White a bit of a soft spot for Sweden, but also because of our strong focus on new sources of energy. "This is a high-risk project with great potential," says White as she concludes our tour of the lab. The wind tunnels start up, the water droplets start spraying and we are asked to immediately leave the danger zone as the electro-kinetic energy begins to build up in the "thunderstorm" behind the panel.

Dawn R. White, Accio Energy
feb 07 2011
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