BMW Group said it had installed the UK’s claimed first ‘motionless’ wind energy system at its Mini plant in Oxford.
The system uses Aeromine Technologies technology to use wind power to produce electricity without visible moving parts.
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The British plant would be a test bed, assessing potential to enhance energy efficiency across group sites worldwide as well as UK commercial buildings.
The project is part of the BMW Startup Garage, a business unit dedicated to supporting early stage startups working on new technology.
It focuses on testing a functional product, at least prototype form, during a pilot project and commissioning the startup as a supplier at an early stage.
Rather than acting as an investor through venture capital, the garage is taking on the role of a customer as a so called “venture client”.
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By GlobalDataThe unit, installed on the edge of a building, is oriented towards the prevailing wind and has wing like vertical airfoils which create a vacuum effect, drawing air behind an internal propeller to generate electricity.
Unlike the traditional wind turbines which now litter the UK, the bladeless design minimises noise and vibrations with no disturbance to buildings or the surrounding environment and with minimal impact on avian wildlife, a concern of conventional turbines where blade tips rotate at high speed.
The unit is constructed from durable, recyclable materials and designed to complement existing solar arrays across the buildings on site.
The solar installation on the body shop has been in place for 10 years with 11,000 panels generating enough electricity to power the equivalent of 850 households for a year. However, the solar panels are less effective during winter and evening hours, when wind conditions are often strongest presenting an opportunity for the wind energy unit to continue generating.
Urs Sambale, project manager for sustainability steering at BMW Group Real Estate Europe, said: “This pilot is a small but exciting project and complements our existing approach to purchasing renewable electricity from the national grid.
We’re looking forward to seeing its potential for generating clean wind energy.”
