Dragons' Den Entrepreneur Is Ready To Power Up His Invention
Inventor Matthew Luethi may have walked away empty-handed from the Dragons' Den, but his quest to produce cost-effective and reliable wind turbines is going ahead swiftly regardless.
Online, August 23, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Inventor Matthew Luethi may have walked away empty-handed from the Dragons' Den, but his quest to produce cost-effective and reliable wind turbines is going ahead swiftly regardless.
"It was a shame that none of the Dragons invested with me, though I was very heartened that they didn't rubbish my pitch, and that they were respectful of my ideas," says Matthew Luethi, the Inventor and Chairman of Luethi Enterprises Limited.
"Shortly after my pitch, I signed a contract with an investment company, so the development plans are progressing anyway."
These development plans include bringing the company's patented 500W silent vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) into production, as well as a new 250W "barrel" turbine. The latter came about as a result of many requests from developing countries for a cheap, reliable wind turbine. Luethi Enterprise's barrel turbine has already had its design registered, and the patent is pending.
"What makes our turbines unique is that they don't need an external power source. All the other commercially-available wind turbines actually need a power supply to operate electronic steering systems," says Matthew Luethi. "That means that our competitors' wind turbines can't be used in remote locations, or other places where there's no power supply."
The Luethi Enterprises VAWT uses unique, patented technology which makes it ideal for use in remote locations.
"Our 500W turbine has a patented regulating mechanism, so it can continue to produce maximum power even during storms. All other wind turbines have to be shut down in such high winds,"says Matthew Luethi.
Proof of this robust technology can be seen in an early pre-production prototype installed at a farm in Nottinghamshire. This turbine powers an LED streetlight non-stop. The turbine has been in place for over four years, and has not required any maintenance or repairs - despite numerous storms in the area over that time.
The ambitions of Luethi Enterprises do not stop with micro wind generation.
"Our technology is totally scalable. We're starting our learnings with small, low-cost turbines, and our developments can then be applied to larger, more powerful units."
Luethi Enterprises will soon begin selling their 500W silent wind turbine from their website (www.silentwindturbine.com).
"Many of the requests we've received so far are from people or organisations who need power in remote locations, be it for street lighting, emergency lighting, CCTV, heating water, or powering battery banks in eco-houses."
Another application for the silent wind turbines that's currently being tested is to power water pumps.
Luethi Enterprises Limited was established in 2005 by Swiss-born Matthew Luethi, who is a retired farmer. The company is headquartered in Kent, England.