Harnessing Wind Energy Without Moving Parts, EWICON Employs Electric Field

A radically new concept to use wind energy has entered prototype phase at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands. They call it the Electrostatic Wind Energy Converter, nicknamed EWICON, which works on a non-mechanical principle, without blades, and produces electricity through charged water droplets and an electric field.

The design has the potential to become a nice addition to the already strongly growing wind energy sector, as it could be deployed nearly everywhere, including urban areas and private houses.

Different to the current large and very powerful high-tech wind turbines, EWICON's design would require less maintenance since it has no movable, breakable parts. It utilizes a steel frame which holds a series of horizontal, insulated tubes.

The system works by releasing positively charged drops of water into the air. The water droplets get picked up by the wind and carried through the EWICONs electric field, harvesting the potential energy of the charged water droplets.

Only three prototype EWICON units have been produced, two which are integrated into a sign on top of a building in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and another standalone unit on the campus of Delft Technical University.

The EWICON can be designed in a variety of sizes and shapes, and since the system does not emit noise, it has potential to be adapted for widespread urban use in places that traditional wind turbines can not work because the wind is to weak and there are no large free spaces. The designers claim the shape of the system could even altered so that it integrates into existing architecture.

The EWICON was designed by architecture firm Mecanoo using technology developed by Delft Technical University researchers Johan Smit and Dhiradj Djairam.