| | More

25th October 2011

To return to the press release please click here

Business-related questions

How much is the initial investment?

What do you estimate to be the potential market for the solution?

Who would be most interested in using this type of solution?

Where will the business be located?

Who are the founders?

How many jobs will it create?

What role will Cambridge Consultants play in Aveillant?

Do you have any projects currently underway?

Technology-related questions

When was the technology developed?

How does the technology work?

Is the solution available now?

In what ways does Aveillant’s offering differ from other solutions currently available?

Aviation-related questions

How do wind farms interfere with radar?

What has the Ministry of Defence / DFT / Civil Aviation Authority done to investigate and resolve the interference problem?

Energy-related questions

How big is this problem?

What affect will this solution have in relation to the UK’s 15% by 20/20 target?

What is the 6.5 GW equivalent to?

Business-related questions

How much is the initial investment?

There are three investors in Aveillant, namely Cambridge Consultants, DFJ Esprit, and the Aviation Investment Fund Company Ltd (AIFCL). Collectively the three stakeholders have invested an un-disclosed, multi-million pound sum into the new company. 

What do you estimate to be the potential market for the solution?

The problem of the co-existence of wind farms and aviation is global, however, countries such as the UK and the USA, are currently showing the strongest interest in resolving the conflict between the two, in order to be able to build up their renewable energy resources.  

Who would be most interested in using this type of solution?

There are two primary customers for Aveillant’s technology; airport operators and wind farm developers. Aveillant's aim is to unlock additional wind farm development by installing and operating holographic radar systems.

Wind farm developers must be able to show that they will not interfere with civil and military radar capability if they are to be granted planning permission from Government or Local Authorities. Equally, airports also have to ensure that any wind farms that are developed do not interfere with their radar capability and that they have a mitigation solution in place.

Where will the business be located?

To start with, Aveillant will remain in Cambridge Consultants’ incubator facility, which is located at our headquarters on the Cambridge Science Park, UK. In time, the company will find its own premises.

Who are the founders?

Currently the two founders are Dr Gordon Oswald and Mr Craig Webster. Gordon joined Cambridge Consultants in 1980, and has been a driving force in holographic radar and its development. Craig has worked at Cambridge Consultants for the past 13 years and has most recently led the firm’s cleantech initiative.

How many jobs will it create?

Aveillant is currently in the process of recruiting both a CEO and a number of engineering staff. It is expected that the company will create around 50 new jobs within the next 3 years. 

What role will Cambridge Consultants play in Aveillant?

Cambridge Consultants will take a typical – supportive but hands off – approach to the running of Aveillant, as one of the primary shareholders. The firm strongly believes in this position given the difference in business models, and has shown it to be the correct model following the success of other spin-outs such as CSR, Xaar, Domino and Inca Digital.

Do you have any projects currently underway?

Cambridge Consultants has completed a wind farm mitigation system design and Part 1 safety case for Glasgow Prestwick Airport in Scotland. Future contracts will be carried out by Aveillant.

Technology-related questions

When was the technology developed?

Cambridge Consultants first started working with short range radar in the 1970s and has been developing its capability ever since. The company started to apply its holographic radar technology to the wind farm interference issue back in 2007, and ran its first small scale trial near Swaffham in Norfolk in 2009, where we were able to detect an aerial target within a few metres of a turbine blade - successfully distinguishing the radar signal of both objects. Following successful trial a business case was presented to the AAP under sponsorship of the MoD.

How does the technology work?

Holographic Radar is a non-scanning, continuously tracking 3D radar that can discriminate between turbines and aircraft based on observable differences in their behaviour. 

Simply put, traditional radar works by scanning a narrow beam around the field of view, briefly highlighting each subject and recording its position. Holographic radar, in comparison, illuminates the whole field of view continuously. Instead of selecting targets sequentially, holographic radar receives beams simultaneously from the receiving array, which allows it to achieve effectively continuous observation, offering the capability of greater precision in characterising targets, including coherent tracking, behavioural analysis and imaging. It is this ability to continuously track an object that allows Aveillant to be able to successfully distinguish between wind turbine and aircraft. 

Is the solution available now?

Holographic radar has been proven in other fields, and Aveillant aims to bring the wind farm version to market within in the shortest possible timeframe. The first stage of a system design has already been completed for a group of wind farms in the vicinity of Prestwick Airport, and Aveillant are working to define an accelerated programme to complete development, validate and approve the system for operation.

In what ways does Aveillant’s offering differ from other solutions currently available?

Other technologies offer a degree of improvement to the situation either by reducing (but not eliminating) the reflections from turbines with stealth technology or by improving the current radar systems to reduce the impact of wind farms to a greater or lesser degree. Advanced algorithms have been developed and additional radars have been installed behind hills to mask airspace immediately above the turbines. However, none of these approaches have restored the performance to exactly the same level as it was before the wind farm was built.

The Aveillant team recognised that a different approach was needed and that holographic radar could avoid the need for compromise. Put simply, it can discriminate between turbines and the even the smallest aircraft. Because it knows the aircraft’s position in 3D, it can feed the information back to the air traffic controller pinpointing the aircraft’s exact position.

Aviation-related questions

How do wind farms interfere with radar?

To conventional air traffic control radar, the moving turbine blades appear like moving aircraft. These false plots show up on the radar screen as clutter and compromise an air traffic controller’s ability to manage aircraft effectively.  

What has the Ministry of Defence / DFT / Civil Aviation Authority done to investigate and resolve the interference problem?

Two MoUs have been signed. An industry/government Aviation Management Board reports into the cabinet office and DECC are managing an Aviation Plan to progress solutions. This Aviation Management Board recommended that Cambridge Consultants Holographic Radar be approved for funding in 2010.

A number of working groups and posts have been set up within Government Departments but no funds are currently allocated to progress activities in DECC’s Aviation Plan.

Energy-related questions

How big is this problem?

An estimated 6GW of wind farm projects in the UK alone are already held in planning because of the unresolved issue of interference with air traffic control radar by wind farms.  The figure is believed to be in excess of 20GW globally and the figure is growing rapidly as Governments and countries search for more sustainable, renewable sources of energy. The UK’s 2020 targets for wind energy will require a further 30-40GW of capacity.

What affect will this solution have in relation to the UK’s 15% by 20/20 target?
Aveillant aims to make a significant contribution to attaining this target, by removing the barriers to wind farm development.

What is the 6.5 GW equivalent to?
It is enough to power:
600,000 cars
2 million kettles
200 million domestic fridges
60 million light bulbs

For further information: