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 A Tunisian start-up has taken inspiration from the sailing boats
of Ancient Carthage to develop a bladeless, non-rotating wind energy
convertor that is more efficient than traditional turbines as well
as safer and quieter, according to the developers.
Tunis-based Saphon Energy says the aerodynamic bowl-shaped sail on
its turbine is capable of capturing twice as much wind energy over
the same swept area as a conventional turbine.
The designers, led by 37-year-old engineer Anis Aouini, looked to
the old technology of sailing boats, as well as the movements of
birds and fish for their design. They were inspired by the sailors
of the ancient civilisation of Carthage, located close to the
present-day Tunisian capital.
The bladeless design uses a non-rotational sail-shaped body combined
with a wind converter that follows a figure of eight pattern in the
air.
All wind turbines are subject to the Betz limit of capturing 59
percent of the energy from wind, but its developers say the
Saphonian is quite capable of surpassing this limit because it is
bladeless, making it far more efficient than traditional turbines.
 Saphon Energy says the Saphonian will be able to convert wind to
energy at around 80 percent. Its lower cost could make it an
attractive source of off-grid energy in developing countries.
The tech company hopes to put this into practice with a partnership
in India.
"This project that is planned for India consisting of 50 Saphonians
producing 20 kilowatts of power, a total of one mega watt, will be a
wind farm. This power produced in south India, could meet the
demands of a small village of 1000 houses even if the energy will be
directly injected to the general Indian electricity network. But
it's an approximation to ease the understanding for viewers: it's
about 1000 houses in India," Aouini told Reuters during a
demonstration of the Saphonian in the Tunis suburb of Rouad.
Saphon Energy has attracted international attention for its
innovative design. The Tunisian company won the 2015 Gulfstream
Navigator Award, as well as funding, technical and software support
from Microsoft.
The team's eco credentials landed the tech firm this support,
according to regional director Leila Serhan.
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"Obviously while we are building our cloud and building our 26 data
centres that we have around the world, we are very particular in
making sure that those data centres have zero emissions. Our
offices, our campuses, mostly in the United States, but more and
more around the world, are also zero emission campuses," she said at
the unveiling of the latest industrial prototype in Rouad, Tunis on
April 8.
The turbine is expected to cost less to produce than traditional
versions, making it ideal for countries where many homes are not
connected to a national power grid, said angel investor Kalid
Qoreichi at the event in Rouad.
"Energy is such a critical part of any economic growth, of regional
growth, of international growth and if a third world project like
this can come up to stream with the way they have brought it about,
I think it's fantastic. So quite frankly, these two things: first
their own commitment, leaving professional jobs to come to it and
secondly the fact that it would be a third world emerging market
project built tested, tried and worked in the third world market,"
he said.
The bladeless design reduces the risks to birds and other wildlife,
and produces far less noise, say the developers.
They hope to scale up the design of the latest prototype so that
just one sail can generate a megawatt of energy.
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