It all started with a drawing on a napkin. Today, AirLoom Energy is raising $12.7 million in new funding, TechCrunch has learned.
The funding came from 21 investors, according to a regulatory filing that does not list the names of the backers. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Wyoming-based startup has a new approach to wind energy. Rather than placing massive turbines atop towers more than 100 meters high, it attaches vertical blades to cables that run along an oval-shaped track just 25 meters (82 feet) above the ground. The company hopes to produce electricity at $13 per megawatt hour, which would be more than 50% cheaper than traditional onshore wind.
The idea for the circuit layout was inspired by kitesurfing, founder Robert Lumley’s hobby. He first sketched out the concept on a napkin at a wind energy conference in Berlin.
Much of the projected savings comes from AirLoom’s lower profile. Today’s wind turbines become more efficient as they grow, but the massive towers and blades are difficult to transport, sometimes requiring up to a year of advance planning. AirLoom parts are smaller, making them easier to manufacture, move and assemble once on site.
AirLoom last raised a $4 million seed round in November from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital and MCJ Collective, founded by Bill Gates. At the same time, he also named a new CEO, Neal Rickner, who was previously COO of Makani Energy, the Alphabet company that sought to use kits to harvest wind energy.
In November, Rickner told TechCrunch that the company’s next step would be to refine the technology to the point where it could build a 1-megawatt pilot project, which he had targeted for 2026. The new funding is likely to help finance this project.
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