IceWind selected for the first DIANA Challenge

The Icelandic innovation company IceWind, which develops and builds robust vertical axis wind turbines, designed to withstand all weather conditions, and be installed in remote locations, was selected for the first Emerging and Disruptive Technologies Challenge by the NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA).

Over 1.300 applicants from all NATO member states applied but only 44 companies were selected to tackle NATO’s specific challenges on energy resilience, secure information sharing and undersea sensing and surveillance. IceWind was 1 of 13 companies in the Energy Resilience category and the only Icelandic company awarded. Selection focused on the proposed solutions and their potential to address the specific challenges identified by the Alliance in a transformative way. The proposals had to be technologically feasible and commercially viable. 

DIANA expects to issue its first grants to successful applicants in December. Each company will receive EUR 100,000 to help address one of the three specific challenge problems. The grant can be used on expenses such as salaries, rent and equipment. The innovators will join DIANA’s accelerator programme early next year, giving them access to a community of experts that will help them develop their technological solutions.