Our story
In 2006, Nicolas Orellana was working on his capstone project to obtain a degree in Industrial Design. As part of his research, he came across an experiment by NASA called the “Tumbleweed” – a wind-driven rover that was essentially a large inflatable ball with instruments inside.
The purpose of this ball was to explore Mars by following a path determined by the wind. During his analysis, Nicolas realised that if the goal was to explore a wide area of the planet, several units would be required. However, if multiple units were released in the same location, the wind would carry them all along the same path, rendering the effort pointless.
In his project, Nicolas challenged himself to create a device that could use crosswinds to travel forward in a straight line, allowing the device to have its own pre-set direction.
The result was “periplo,” which is Spanish for "journey." This device consisted of a metal frame and an inner fabric body that utilised side winds to travel forward by using only its own geometry. The design was prototyped and tested in the Atacama Desert, covering a distance of over 17 km in six trials.
After Nicolas graduated, the device was stored, and the idea continued to develop in his mind as a principle that could one day be used to generate energy.
That day arrived in 2018, when Nicolas was nearing the completion of his master's degree in the UK. He came across an opportunity to apply for the James Dyson Award for engineering design. He revisited his old design, returned to the drawing board to transform it into an omnidirectional wind turbine, and teamed up with his classmate, Yaseen Noorani, for engineering support.
They approached the engineering department to test the new idea. After collecting various opinions, they concluded that it would be logical for it to be situated in densely populated urban areas to harness the chaotic urban winds. Suddenly, they had identified a substantial market, and the invention had evolved into an innovation.
In preparation for the contest application, two prototypes were built, one of them in paper and a smaller one was 3D printed. These prototypes were tested in a wind tunnel at Lancaster University to validate the concept. Around this time, the first patent application was filed.
The contest went well, and the Omni-directional Wind Turbine, now named the O-Wind Turbine, received the national award in the UK. It also won the international version of the same contest, chosen among the winners from the 27 countries where it was held.
Two more awards were received that same year. These awards were widely publicised worldwide, leading to thousands of people expressing their interest.
This public interest, coupled with the arrival of a new co-founder, Dominic Chippendale, convinced the team to incorporate O-Innovations Limited in 2019 to further develop the O-Wind and bring it to market
