Wind power research has wind in its sails

Today Ericsson has announced that the company is launching a collaboration with Uppsala University and its spin-off company Vertical Wind AB to develop environmentally friendly wind-powered radio masts. This represents a major success for the research team's pioneering technological solutions for wind power.

In 2007 Ericsson presented a new environmentally friendly radio mast, called the Tower Tube. Now we know that the tower will be powered by the innovative system for wind-powered electricity production that has been developed by Uppsala University researchers.

"We are proud and extremely gratified to see the success our researchers have achieved. Once again, this shows that energy research is one of our true areas of strength," says Anders Hallberg, Vice-Chancellor of Uppsala University.

Unlike existing wind-power stations, this system has no propellers. Instead the turbine simply rotates around a cement tower. The power station thus takes up less space, and the risk of interfering with the radio antennas at the top of the tower is eliminated. The construction is simple, the operational costs are lower, as are costs for maintenance, and, what's more, it is much quieter than today's windmills.

Research at the University's Division for Electricity and Lightning Research at the Ångström Laboratory is geared to finding simpler, more efficient, and more reliable wind-power stations with fewer undesired impacts on people and nature. This work especially targets vertical-axis wind-power units and is funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, among others. A prototype of the construction in question has been erected just outside Uppsala.

Uppsala University Holding, UUAB, is one of the owners of Vertical Wind.

Contact:
Hans Bernhoff, assistant professor, phone: +46
(0)18-471 58 14; cell phone: +46 (0)70-425 08 34; hans.bernhoff@angstrom.uu.se