Innovative power generation system for high-rise buildings harvests solar and wind energy

“I always wanted to stand out from the crowd”, he concludes in retrospect. “To be more than just a number. That was also the case later at technical college and university." When his technical college graduation project attracted extensive media coverage in the newspapers, he realized two of the three things that would shape the rest of his career: that he found the combination of civil engineering and architecture extremely interesting. And that he had the skills and desire to make the world a better place. That Eureka moment motivated him to “go the extra mile” and enrol for a course at Eindhoven University of Technology. This was where his architecture lecturer, Monique Bakker, encouraged him to follow his passion and look to nature for solutions - the third ‘career-shaping factor’ that ultimately culminated in the award-winning PowerNEST: a sustainable power generator for high-rise buildings.

The PowerNEST harvests solar and wind energy. Natural elements that are abundant in Miami, the place where the idea for Alexander’s innovative energy system first came to him. Triggered by his angry landlady, who complained about him turning off the air conditioning when he went on holiday to the Netherlands. “Then it dawned on me that those things are always on in Florida. The houses also all have very small windows to keep as much sunlight out as possible. Even though you can put the sun and wind to good use.” This thought was still fresh in his mind when he had to complete an assignment for sustainable construction, one of his course subjects. He drew a few sketches during a boring lecture and the idea for the PowerNEST was born: a single integrated system for high-rise buildings, which includes a wind turbine and solar panels, and also takes the appearance of the building into account. Alexander: “The wind is always at its strongest between two tall buildings, because of the venturi effect. The PowerNEST makes optimal use of the intelligence of nature, with the addition of a turbine as my human contribution.” 

In Alexander's eyes, this idea was no more than a completely logical solution; nothing to make a fuss about. So he was very surprised when Bart Chernow, the Vice Provost of Technology Advancement at the University of Miami with whom he shared his idea, immediately closed the door, called in a patent attorney and urged him to maintain strict secrecy. “According to Chernow, my idea was worth its weight in gold and I had to promise not to tell anybody about it, not even my own mother, in order to avoid jeopardising the patent application.” From that time on he received personal coaching and, just a few weeks later, had developed the idea enough to present it to a group of angel investors. A team of researchers was also put at his disposal. Alexander stayed at the University of Miami until he obtained his PhD. He had already seen how difficult it was for non-American colleagues to stay in the US, so when he received the offer of a job in the Netherlands and the European Union confirmed the availability of funding for developing the PowerNEST, the decision to return to Eindhoven required little soul-searching.

The work at the TU/e focused initially on product development and good progress was made. So good in fact that the team won several innovation grants, which were spent on building an initial prototype and funding the start of a new business. IBIS Power, named by Alexander after the ibis - a bird that intelligently uses wind currents for maximum efficiency, very much like his invention -  opened its doors in November 2012. Various parties in the region, including Brainport Development, offered their support and the High Tech Campus provided office space.

But more was needed to turn the concept into a production-ready and affordable product that could operate at the highest possible efficiency. The activity really took off when a major European grant in 2015 made it possible for Alexander to expand his team to fifteen people. Just one year later, the very first unit was installed in the Eemshaven in Groningen. A great moment for the inventor: “Overwhelming - you suddenly find yourself standing in front of something that you thought of and sketched yourself, and then you think of all the people who helped you make it a success!”

Not everybody was a believer though. “The reactions to the PowerNEST varied a lot”, says Alexander in his current spacious office at IBIS Power's Strijp-S location. “People were either very enthusiastic, or they were convinced that the idea wouldn't work and even tried to prevent it from becoming a success.” When the results of the first complete system in Groningen exceeded all his expectations, he took the bold step of issuing a challenge on social media, inviting five critics to come and pick holes in his product. “They were there the next day. I gave them full access to all the models and even took part in an online presentation with them. They told me exactly what other scientists found hard to believe and what they needed to know to be convinced. After the presentation, I never heard anything from them again. Even so, that kind of criticism does get to you.”

After a year of testing in Groningen, a PowerNEST was installed in an urban environment – a block of flats in Utrecht - for the first time in 2017. Alexander: “Most people thought that the PowerNEST would only work effectively in coastal areas. We also thought that there might not be enough wind in a city environment at first. However, the test in Utrecht demonstrated that the PowerNEST was also effective in an unfavourable wind environment, generating more power than we calculated beforehand. Furthermore, local residents experienced no nuisance whatsoever - an important precondition for successful application in the built environment.”

A more recent success story is the unit that has been installed on the roof of the Zadkine Techniek College Rotterdam. In addition to supplying green electricity for the school building, the PowerNEST offers Zadkine students the opportunity of gaining practical experience with innovative energy technology.

Although Alexander very much enjoys running his business, selling his product has proved to be an uphill struggle. He attributes this inertia to the "immaturity" of the Dutch market for sustainable energy. “Many people still don’t accept that things have to change”, he says. “And even if they do, they are often unwilling to pay for the new technology.” The positive side is that he knows how to handle setbacks now. “I have become pretty resilient. I remain positive, continue to see the humorous side of life, and - when a strategy comes up against a brick wall - I simply look for new possibilities and opportunities in other areas.” The company has adapted its business model to make its offer more attractive for building owners. “We have adopted an ESCo (Energy Service Company) approach: we pay all the installation and maintenance costs and the residents pay us for their energy. A no-hassle solution for building owners.”