Harnessing energy from wind, sun, and water has traditionally been the most effective, cleanest, and economical way to electrify the world. However, the existing wind and solar farms are not capable of generating power around the clock. Their life span is only 20 to 25 years, and renewing them can be a big challenge.
This has manifested as an opportunity for KiNRG to adopt science-based solutions to unleash the power of renewable energy and foster carbon neutrality. By amalgamating the energy generation potential of sun and wind, its Downdraft Energy Tower can provide industries, utilities, and government entities with renewable electricity without the destructive residuals of fossil fuels. It also opens up a new way to economically produce green hydrogen.
The Downdraft Energy Tower has a life span of 50 to 100 years, and can operate continuously, making it a reliable long-term energy source. Even in arid regions like Arizona, the tower continues to generate power, even at night, as long as the air is warm enough. It is also a highly economical solution as it can be constructed at half the cost of other energy plants or facilities, and requires very little maintenance.
Following a Path of Innovation toward Sustainability
The concept of the Downdraft Energy Tower came to fruition in 1975 when Israel was looking for an energy solution appropriate for its climate. It is the brainchild of Dr. Phillip Carlson; an idea later expanded by Professor Dan Zaslavsky from Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The concept underpins a strategy to produce colossal power that is equivalent to the energy generated by wind turbines spread over 100,000 acres, or as big as the Hoover Dam.
When the velocity of the wind is doubled, the kinetic energy generated is cubed. This is the key to the high-performance capability of our tower
Built on this concept, KiNRG’s patented Downdraft Energy Tower is powered by dual renewable sources that supply abundant green energy. It is a hyperbolic concrete structure built with a water injection system at the top. The system introduces measured droplets of water, which immediately evaporate due to the warm air at the extreme top of the tower. The evaporation naturally cools the air inside the tower.
With continuous evaporation and cooling, the cold, damp, dense air on top descends at speeds as high as 50 mph. It flows laterally through tunnels at the base of the tower at 100 mph or more. Patented turbines at the bottom of the tower extract the kinetic energy from the tunnels and generate green electricity. A series of hydraulic pumps on the back of the turbine shaft help generate higher hydraulic pressure. KiNRG can generate both AC and DC with a series of generators in an air-conditioned room next to the tunnel, which can be easily serviced, disconnected, and replaced.
“When the velocity of the wind is doubled, the kinetic energy generated is cubed. This is the key to the high-performance capability of our tower,” says Pickett.
Crafted with Deep Expertise
To put together such a genius product, the KiNRG team has partnered with meteorologists, cloud scientists, top firms, and experts from renowned universities, including the Georgia Institute of Technology and Milwaukee School of Engineering. The aerospace experts and physicists at Georgia Tech coordinated the algorithmic programming, the basis for the complex operating control system that monitors, controls, and operates the energy production system. Georgia Tech is also responsible for creating the design to channel the wind out of the tunnels. They reviewed the requirements of the water pumping and water injection system and are set to complete the technical hardware design.
The Milwaukee School of Engineering is behind the engineered design hardware of the patented hydraulic and kinetic energy extraction and control systems that use a set of formulas to talk to each other. This allows the control system to run automatically based on the incoming air, temperature, and humidity.
Closely collaborating with expert consultants, KiNRG has assembled a team of professionals with deep-rooted industry knowledge to solve any challenge. It also has a contracting team onboard with decades of experience in building large structures.
Fueling Business Ambitions and Driving Impact
Backed by the best academic minds and the rich expertise of consultants and world-class engineering partners, KiNRG is geared to build its first Downdraft Energy Tower in Arizona by next summer. It has formulated a plan to constructively use the massive amounts of electricity generated from the tower. The first one is establishing a factory on its campus to produce green hydrogen using this clean electricity.
LIFTE H2—a hydrogen supply chain integrator—is helping KiNRG make smart decisions when it comes to electrolyzers, storage, amount of electricity to be diverted toward the grid, or green hydrogen production, to maintain a balance of power on its plant. As its towers produce electricity around the clock, it can maximize the value of capital invested in the electrolyzers and produce the most economical green hydrogen in the world.
KiNRG has teamed up with Steelhead Composites—a manufacturer of lightweight, high-strength cylinders for fuel storage applications. Steelhead Composites has invented a green hydrogen carrier system that can be filled with compressed hydrogen gas. The system can be used as a filling station for vehicles or storage.
KiNRG is working on three more sites around the world to construct its towers. It is leveraging the world’s best professionals to design the tower and the largest construction team in the U.S. to build the foundation of the tower. KiNRG has identified the next ten towers, targeted for the upcoming years.
“We see a huge opportunity to license and franchise our solution or consult with businesses to build energy towers, taking clean energy generation to the next level,” says Pickett.
KiNRG’s towers undoubtedly have the potential to propel the U.S. to be the most competitive producer of green hydrogen globally. Due to the layering of hydrogen and renewable energy tax credits authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act, KiNRG’s Downdraft Energy Tower will also be the world’s most economical energy solution.
