The UK recipients of the prestigious James Dyson Award for engineering excellence are setting their sights on the £30,000 international prize, while also considering crowdfunding for their innovative wind turbine.
Nicolas Orellana, 36, and Yaseen Noorani, 24, secured the £2,000 UK prize for their Omnidirectional Wind Turbine. This invention aims to empower urban apartment residents to generate their own electricity. ‘People living in apartments—40 per cent of people living in cities—cannot install solar power technology,’ Orellana stated. ‘In the UK, three per cent of houses have installed some kind of technology to create their own electricity. I’m therefore targeting three per cent of apartments. It’s about allowing people living in apartments to be part of the energy revolution and to create their own electricity.’
Inspiration for the device arose during their time at Lancaster University, where they studied NASA’s Mars Tumbleweed rover. This rover, designed to measure atmospheric conditions on Mars, utilised mini turbines dependent on horizontal winds. ‘If you took a number of them to Mars, the wind would take them all together in the same direction—so the design didn’t make sense,’ explained Orellana. ‘I wanted to create something that goes in a straight line, no matter where the wind comes from.’
Orellana’s innovation led to a prototype that travels 7km in a straight line by harnessing crosswinds. He revived this project a few months ago to compete for the James Dyson Award, developing a 3D-printed prototype to demonstrate the concept. This device, which can be installed outside a window or on a balcony, is only 15cm in diameter. However, the ideal size for a final product is projected to be between 50 and 80cm. ‘Wind could hit a property from any direction, depending on factors like the building’s placement, surrounding structures, wind sources, and height,’ Orellana elaborated. ‘Every single apartment would have a different situation: urban winds are chaotic in nature.’
Following his graduation, Orellana briefly returned to South America before returning to the UK to explore opportunities for his invention. Now, the O-Wind Turbine will contend internationally for the James Dyson Award alongside representatives from 26 other countries. The entries will be narrowed down to a shortlist of 20 by Dyson engineers, with the final winner and two runners-up selected by Sir James Dyson himself on November 15th. Runners-up will receive £5,000 each, but projects of this magnitude require substantial funding for development, finalisation, patenting, and market launch.
Orellana is considering a two-year development phase for the O-Wind Turbine. ‘I’ve been getting a lot of attention on the back of the James Dyson Award—people coming to me and saying
said Orellana. ‘Initially, everyone suggested pursuing Innovate UK or European Horizon 2020 grants. However, these require co-funding, which is challenging at this stage. Crowdfunding could be the answer, and that’s a decision I’ll have to make in the coming weeks.’
The groundbreaking potential of the Omnidirectional Wind Turbine does not only lie in its engineering prowess but also in its capacity to democratise energy production for urban apartment dwellers. As Orellana and Noorani navigate the complexities of funding and development, the future of urban renewable energy sources holds promise and anticipation.