Airloom Energy, a Laramie, WY-based energy company in the field of wind energy generation, raised $4M in Seed in funding.
The round was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and supported by investors including Lowercarbon Capital and MCJ Collective, among others.
The company intends to use the funds to expands the R&D of the Airloom wind energy test device, which is designed to produce 50 kilowatts (kW) of electricity.
Led by new CEO Neal Rickner, Airloom Energy manufactures the Airloom, a novel wind turbine that promises to advance the field utility-scale wind energy generation. The company, which is currently operating a 50-kilowatt test device, utilizes the same physics as a conventional horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT), but with a very different layout. This novel approach results in a unique utility-scale wind power device that produces the same amount of power as a HAWT at a small fraction of the mass and cost. Conventional wind turbines can approach a height of 500 feet, with 180-foot blades rotating on a 300-foot tower. In contrast, the typical Airloom runs 30-foot blades along a lightweight track with a total height of 80 feet.
Rickner brings more than 25 years of operational and investing experience in the energy, defense, and industrial sectors. Prior to his role as CEO of BridgeTek Energy, a global battery integration services and software technology provider, Rickner served as the Managing Partner of Elevation Ventures, where he led investments in early-stage energy and mobility companies. He spent nearly a decade at Google and Google[x] leading teams, most notably serving as the Chief Operating Officer of Makani, a next-generation wind-turbine company owned by Alphabet and Shell. Rickner is also a decorated veteran of the U.S. Marines, serving as an F-18 pilot and Forward Air Controller for over 12 years.
He succeeds founder Robert Lumley, who will remain with Airloom.
FinSMEs
06/11/2023