When Daniela Roeper worked as a consultant at a wind farm, she was surprised to learn that because of ice develops on the blades of wind turbines during winter, wind farm owners can be left with annual revenue loss of $100 million.
It’s the reason why Roeper founded Borealis Wind, the latest company pitching on The Disruptors. Borealis Wind is developing a blade heating retrofit for wind turbines that Roeper says can help wind farmers ensure they’re not losing revenue.
“What sets our system apart is that it can be installed up-tower in the wind turbine, rather than using cranes to remove the blades of the wind turbine,” said Daniela Roeper, founder of Borealis Wind. “It’s installed inside the hollow blade, and uses a heating system to circulate hot air within the wind turbine blade.”
In August, Borealis Wind won the $40,000 top prize from Communitech’s Fierce Founders Competition.
Co-hosts Bruce Croxon and Amber Kanwar were fans of the product, but noted that they were eager to see how it would scale. “People talk about an innovation crisis in Canada, and this is living testimony that we don’t have an innovation crisis in Canada. We’ve got the grit and best ideas in the world, let’s see if she can turn it into a business. I hope she can,” said Croxon.
Watch the whole pitch below:
BetaKit is a production partner on The Disruptors. Tune in to BNN every Thursday night at 7 p.m. for full episodes!
