It is no longer surprising to encounter 100-foot pinwheels spinning as you drive

down the road. But dont get too used to that view. A Spanish company called Vortex
Bladeless is showing us a brand new way to generate wind energy that will once again
change what you see outside your car window.

Their idea is the Vortex, a bladeless wind turbine that looks like an enormous
rolled up paper shooting into the sky. The Vortex has the same goals as conventional
wind turbines. To turn breezes into kinetic energy that can be used as electricity. But this
stick coming out of the ground works a little differently.

Rather than capturing energy through the circular motion of a propeller, the
Vortex takes advantage of whats known as vorticity, an aerodynamic effect that
produces a pattern of spinning vortices. Vorticity has been considered the enemy of
architects and engineers, who actively try to design their way around these whirlpools of
wind, because with enough wind, vorticity can lead to an oscillating motion in structures,
like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, that can lead to an eventual collapse.

Where others see danger, Vortex Bladelesss founders, David Suriol, David
Yez, and Raul Martn, sees opportunity. We said, Why dont we try to use this
energy, not avoid it, Suriol says. The team started Vortex Bladeless as a way to turn
this vibrating energy into something productive, in 2010 . They just launched a
crowdfunding campaign to raise awareness of the technology.

The Vortexs shape was developed to ensure the spinning wind occurs
simultaneously along the entirety of the mast. The swirls have to work together to
achieve good performance, Villarreal explains. In its current model, the long cone is
made of fiberglass and carbon fiber, which allows the mast to vibrate as much as
possible. At the base of the cone are two rings of repelling magnets, which act as a sort
of non-electrical motor. When the cone moves one way, the repelling magnets pull it in
the other direction, like a slight nudge to boost the masts movement regardless of wind
speed. This kinetic energy is then converted into electricity via an alternator that
multiplies the frequency of the masts movement to improve the energy-gathering
efficiency.

Its makers enjoy bragging about the fact that there are no gears, bolts, or
mechanically moving parts, which they say makes the Vortex cheaper to manufacture
and maintain. The founders claim their Vortex Mini, which stands at about 41 feet tall,
can capture up to 40 percent of the winds power during good conditions. Based on their
field testing, the Mini ultimately captures 30 percent less than conventional wind
turbines, but that shortcoming is compensated by the fact that you can put double the
Vortex turbines on the same space as a propeller turbine.

Vortex has already raised $1 million from private capital and government funding
in Spain, and they have plans to close a round in the United States soon. Theres
enough interest, Suriol says, that he fields upward of 200 emails a day from people
inquiring about the turbine. Of course, the technology still has a long ways to go, and it
is still in its early stages. Theyre hoping to have their first product, a 9-foot, 100-watt
turbine that will be used in developing countries, ready before the end of the year. The
Mini, its 41-foot counterpart, will be ready next year.

For the time being, youll continue seeing pinwheels across the landscape, which
Suriol is actually happy about. We cant say anything bad about conventional wind
turbines; theyre great machines, he says. Were just proposing a new way, a different
way. A very humble way of telling people that his product is much better.