Quarterly Publication - Ed. 02-May6 - Flipbook - Page 24
BIOME RENEWABLES:
HOW DOES BIOME RENEWABLES TACKLES BOTH SOCIETAL AND
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS?
IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY
AND AFFORDABILITY OF
CLEAN ENERGY, ONE WIND
TURBINE AT A TIME
At Biome Renewables, we are driving a triple bottom line business,
focussing on clean energy generation through advances in energy
technologies, primarily in wind energy. Biome uses biomimicry; the
emulation of biological strategies in design and engineering to glean
advances in fluid-dynamics. By making wind turbines more efficient,
Biome is accelerating the uptake of wind around the world by enabling
lower power prices.
Ryan Church (Next Founders, 2019),
Founder, CEO and CTO of Biome Renewables
R
yan is an entrepreneur through-and-through,
having multiple patents to his name that span
across various industries from fluid mechanics, to
healthcare, multi-scaler manufacturing and biologically-inspired materials. Ryan received his Bachelors of Arts from the University of Victoria, then went on to
study Biomedical Device Design at the University of Toronto,
conducted biomedical research at McGill and UBC, then sought
entrepreneurial education through Creative Destruction Lab
and our Next Founders program. He’s extremely passionate
about the natural world and how it can translate to innovation
and sustainability - he even spent some time as a Wildfire
Fighter during his time in British Columbia. All being said, it
comes as no surprise that Ryan was recently nominated as a
Forbes 30 under 30 in Energy, and has interviewed with top
publications like The Economist.
PROBLEM
Efficiency and affordability of clean
energy, specifically wind turbines
SOLUTION
Biome Renewables: An industrial design firm that employs the power of
nature to create a sustainable future.
Their biomimetic design process
applies innovative thinking to continually improve their products and
our world. They pride themselves
on their top-to-bottom approach for
making their full operation as sustainable as possible.
IMPACT
Recently introduced a new retrofit
turbine device designed to optimize
wind-power generation called the
“PowerCone,” have a team of 10+
people and within 5 years, expect to
be on thousands of turbines globally.
“
Other businesses
can think about
social impact by
using business
model canvases
that spark
engagement
within an
organization.
— Ryan Church
HOW DOES TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE POWER THE EFFICIENCY
AND AFFORDABILITY OF YOUR SOLUTION?
Inspired by the design of the maple tree’s key, our platform
PowerCone technology is a wind turbine hardware retrofit solution
that increases AEP (American Electric Power) by up to 13%. At the
core of wind turbines, root leakage can rob them of power. As such,
structural needs at the blade root take priority over energy capture
and kinetic energy is lost. Our new device, the PowerCone is a passive
turbine retrofit that bolts to the hub of the turbine as an effective turnkey solution that incorporates nature’s wisdom to address root leakage.
The result is not just more power, but power from a place where no
longer blade or smarter software can find it.
HOW IS BIOME BALANCING SOCIAL IMPACT WITH PROFITABILITY?
Biome is in the process of securing its B-Corp certification. We
like to maintain KPIs that drive social well-being, along with revenue.
This includes a healthy work-life balance, flexible work schedules, and
sourcing talent, products and services from our community when
possible.
HAVE YOU COME ACROSS ANY RESOURCES STARTUPS CAN USE
TO CREATE MEANINGFUL SOCIAL IMPACT?
Other businesses can think about social impact by using business
model canvases that spark engagement within an organization. A good
example is the Flourishing Business Canvas.
SO, WHAT’S NEXT FOR BIOME RENEWABLES?
Biome is in the final phases of testing its first full-scale PowerCone
in an operational setting. With this testing complete, we will expand our
testing to wind farms, testing on multiple machines, while rolling out
the technology on customer assets across North America and Europe.
Within 5 years, we are expecting to be on thousands of turbines globally.
LEARN MORE ABOUT BIOME RENEWABLES
24
GRIT
GRIT
25