Windstorm Renewables, an Aberdeenshire-based start-up business, has scooped the £6,500 2018-19 UK Innovator Launchpad Award.
The company has developed a mini power station using innovative wind turbine technology which generates more power at a lower cost than other systems currently used.
They beat off stiff competition from fellow finalists Alterwaste creator of an alternative to plastic made from eggshells who claimed second place and Designed forLife, developer of an innovative sofa design extending the sofa’s lifetime, who claimed third place.
Founder and CEO, John Mailey commented: “I and the team at Windstorm are delighted to win the recognition and the funding that this award brings, and we are confident this will help accelerate our efforts to prove our technology and get it to market.
“After investing two years working on the technology development, we now have a superb experienced team with the determination to succeed and a clear plan to get there. Our vision at Windstorm is to responsibly power our world”.
As well as the £6,500 cash funding provided by the competition, Mailey claims a PR and advice package provided by the competition sponsors, and a limited-edition space jacket in keeping with the rocket launch theme of the competition!
Sponsors of this year’s competition are Murgitroyd, Leyton UK, Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banking Group, Dog Digital and Betabrand.
Keith Jones, director, Patents, from founding sponsor Murgitroyd, the intellectual property attorney specialists, and who was one of the competition judges, said: “Windstorm really shone through as a great business proposition that was well thought through and we were impressed in particular by the strength of their team”.
He added that the business propositions of all three finalist companies were of very high quality and that he could see that while Windstorm had edged a win, both Alterwaste and Designed forLife, also had “superb potential”.
The top three companies were selected by the public in an online contest where the top ten entrants shared a 90-second video pitch.
The next Innovator Launchpad competition will launch in Autumn 2019.