Summerside to become North American Base of Operations for WindTAK

The Summerside Xchange has reached a collaborative partnership with a Polish based clean technology company called WindTAK sp.z.o.o.. WindTAK has developed wind turbine technology that increases the effectiveness of turbine power production by upwards of 7%. As wind farms age, efficiency and productivity can become severely impacted. However, through advanced analytics and monitoring wind farm operators can maintain high efficiency and production of these assets by utilizing the proprietary technology WindTAK offers.

WindTAK expressed an interest in growing into the North American wind power marketplace with a base of operations in Summerside. As part of their growth plans in North American, WindTAK requires product validation in market with wind farm operators. The City of Summerside has agreed to invest into a pilot project by installing WindTAK systems on two of the four City wind turbines.

WindTAK, considered a “deep clean technology” company, uses smart vortex generators that are small, 3D printed rotor attachments that optimize the flow pattern around the turbine rotor. The vortex generators in partnership with a WindTAK ‘s gateway mounted to the turbines nacelle provides a smart monitoring system for turbine performance. As a result, the blade aerodynamics works better, producing more electrical energy. It is the same mechanism that makes the dimpled golf balls fly faster or automobiles drive further on a single gasoline tank. WindTAK’s system improves blade efficiency, increases the power production and lifetime of wind turbines while cutting the wind park operator costs by supplying information in real time on critical “in front of the meter” energy sources.

“Prince Edward Island is unique,” says Dr Karczewski, “and Summerside is the perfect location to develop new ideas and gain a foothold in the North American market especially in the clean tech sector. For an enterprise like ours, it simplifies everything and turbo-boosts the time required to test and take our products to market. We are planning on installing our systems on two of the four City wind turbines this Fall and validate their performance for 12 months. As well we are in the process over the next six months of setting up an office in Summerside starting with 3 people and growing to 12 over the next couple of years.”

Mayor of Summerside, Dan Kutcher says “This pilot project will not only help the City reach Net Zero but also establish WindTAK Canada Inc in Summerside and provide the company the necessary validation and grow out of its technology business in North America. WindTAKs experience with Summerside is an example of how commercialization partnerships can be obtained by using City owned facilities for the validation of technology while growing our local economy.

In 2021, the City of Summerside building on the experience and success of Living Lab, formed the business accelerator called the Summerside Xchange, a private-public sector collaboration to enhance support for early to mid-stage companies through their commercialization and expansion journey and to expedite growth through rapid product development, mentorship and financing. If you are a local, regional or international company that would like to partner with the City of Summerside to grow your company in a rapid, fast-paced commercialization environment please contact Mike Thususka, Director of Economic Development, at mike@summerside.ca