The entrepreneurial story of NextPower360 has been one of expanding ripples in water. In September of 2022, Tony and I dropped a pebble into the pond of technology innovation.
During our first months, we, along with our advisors, focused internally to establish our business systems, especially our R&D process to confirm that we had an innovation worth pursuing. After building and iterating on six proofs of concept physical models, our ripples began to spread. In the last couple of months, we have been methodically reaching out to customers, investors, suppliers, and other players in the wind power ecosystem. The results of our R&D to date combined with the feedback from our outreach convinces us more and more that we have not dropped just a pebble in a pond, but we are aligning innovation, research, investment, and market forces to create a very big splash in the wind industry.
Patent Process and Integrated Prototype
This past Friday, we submitted our first non-provisional utility patent application, which is a huge milestone. The patent application consolidates our intellectual property (IP) from our two previous provisional patents, and it is part of an overall patent strategy through which we will continue to pursue additional patents both in the United States and internationally.
Our Proof of Concept #6 (PoC #6) was completed on July 29, 2023. Our previous physical models demonstrated discrete aspects of our design such as the ability of our topology to adapt to variable input demands and that there are no diminishing returns even at high RPMs. PoC #6 has taken the next step of integrating our suite of innovations into a single prototype. Its performance surprised even us. The output dwarfs the generation from our previous models, as we identify the key parameters that drive generator performance, such as the number of stators and rotors and their diameters.
Later this summer, we will begin to build head-to-head prototypes to test our performance against a conventional generator in an apples-to-apples comparison. The subsequent phases of our R&D will employ both simulation and physical models to optimize the various aspects of our design. The optimized design will be used to build fully operational 5 kW prototype generators that can be field tested in distributed scale wind turbines.
Investment NextPower360 cannot expedite our R&D process without additional financial resources. This Spring, NextPower360 closed its $400,000 Pre-seed investment round, which has allowed us to conduct early R&D. We are currently raising $1 million in a Seed Round that will enable us to continue the R&D to optimize our design, finance our legal patent strategy, and build relationships with players in the wind generator market. In 2024, we intend to raise $6 million or more to build full-scale prototypes to enable the commercialization of our technology. We also have launched a crowdfunding campaign to allow our friends, family, and early supporters to make investments at roughly the same terms as the Seed Investors. Please click here if interested in learning more.
When There is No Pebble Tossed or Wind to Blow
The first paragraph’s metaphor of tossing a pebble into a pond inspired me to look up the lyrics of the Grateful Dead song “Ripple”, which was released on the B-side of the single Truckin’. Wouldn’t you know it! Even the Grateful Dead, back in 1970, gave tribute to the wind. The full lyrics read, “Ripple in still water, When there is no pebble tossed, Or wind to blow.” There are many theories about what these well-crafted lyrics mean. I choose to interpret the lyrics as a sign, that just like anyone gracious enough to read our newsletter to the end, somehow Jerry Garcia is rooting for us. I am grateful to have you with us on this journey.
No matter what a long, strange trip it’s been, with enough ripples, humanity can still bring the climate back into balance.
Michael Shore
CEO
NextPower360