Leverages a fleet of proprietary robots to perform repair and maintenance tasks for wind asset owners
Wind maintenance represents a large global opportunity with over $16B spent annually on wind turbine maintenance in the US and Europe alone. Operations and maintenance (O&M) represents ~25% of a turbine’s lifetime costs making it a strategic spend category – and as turbines increase in size, blade replacements become more expensive and the value of preventative action increases. At the same time, labor is a key constraint: technicians are in short supply and safety concerns plague the industry. The continued growth of wind for generation is reliant on consistent financial returns for asset owners and Aerones offers a paradigm shift in terms of cost and efficiency for asset owners.
Aerones is a first mover and global leader in robotic repair of wind blades and represents a unique technology platform in the market. The company’s primary competition is traditional human labor (e.g.,rope-access technicians), which is slower, more expensive, and less safe; ultimately leading to higher downtime for assets. Aerones is differentiated in its ability to physically repair (vs. simply inspect) turbines, their quality of service, and the breadth of customers they serve across OEMs and owner-operators. With the company’s technical team and manufacturing footprint largely based in Riga, Latvia, the company leverages a cost advantage around R&D and holds differentiated IP.
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Paul Jordan
Partner
Paul leads the firm’s investment strategy around transportation & logistics, also focusing on AI, data, and the space economy.
Prior to Activate, Paul was an investor at Element Partners, a private equity firm with $850m of AUM focused on renewable energy and other sustainable industrial technologies.
Paul began his career at Piper Jaffray (PIPR), where he advised diversified industrial and applied technology companies on M&A.
Paul holds degrees in Public Policy and Economics from Duke University.
Leila Martin
Senior Associate
Leila is a Senior Associate at Activate, where she focuses on economic analysis to identify sectors that fit Activate’s strategy.
Prior to joining Activate, Leila was a Consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Toronto, where she worked on climate and sustainability projects with institutional investors, NGOs, and corporations. She was selected for BCG’s Social Impact Immersion Program, where she focused on decarbonization technologies for hard-to-abate industries, nature-based solutions, carbon markets, and emissions measurement platforms. Prior to BCG, Leila participated in a fellowship program at Cape York Partnership in Australia, where she worked on a project supporting economic development in Indigenous communities.
Leila graduated with high honors from the University of Toronto with a degree in Finance and Economics and a minor in English Literature. While at the University of Toronto, she received the Student Leadership Award and took part in the Creative Destruction Lab startup accelerator. In her free time, Leila enjoys hiking, running, playing Ultimate Frisbee, and maintaining her link to Canada by keeping up with the latest Canadian fiction releases.
Highlights
Turbines serviced
Blades serviced