Pteró (wing, winged) + fin (a surface that produces lift in air or water) = Pterófin [ter-o-fin]
Renewable Energy That Moves Like Nature
Pterofin is developing oscillating-wing technology that harvests energy from wind and water the way birds and fish actually move through them — using a reciprocating, wing-like motion instead of a continuously rotating blade.
That single design choice opens up terrain conventional turbines can't reach: shallow rivers and canals, low and variable currents, and sites where a spinning rotor raises real concerns for the wildlife sharing that water or airspace.
Why Oscillating Wings
Conventional turbines need depth, or steady high-speed wind or current, to pencil out. That rules out most of the world's rivers, canals, and near-shore water — and it puts fast-moving rotor blades directly in the path of birds and aquatic life.
Pterofin's wing oscillates back and forth, changing its angle of attack through each stroke to convert fluid motion into mechanical power at high torque and low rotational speed. The result is a device that can generate meaningful power in places a turbine simply can't operate — quietly, and with a fundamentally different interaction profile with the environment around it.
Built to Yield, Not Fight
When conditions exceed normal operating range — a debris strike, a gust, an unusually strong current — a Pterofin wing is designed to sweep back with the flow rather than resist it. That yield response is intended to shed load, protect the structure, and reduce the severity of any wildlife interaction, before the wing returns to normal oscillation once conditions settle. It's the same principle a sailboat's rigging depends on in a gust: bend before you break.
The Evidence
Pterofin's Skimmer concept has already completed independent water-tunnel testing at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State University, through the Department of Energy-supported TEAMER program — producing a public dataset on its hydrodynamic performance now hosted in the Marine and Hydrokinetic Data Repository.
We're now working with the Department of Energy's National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR, formerly NREL), again through TEAMER, on the next step: a full computational modeling campaign to produce a validated power curve for the Skimmer across realistic operating conditions. That's the step that moves the Skimmer from promising to provable — and the foundation for prototype validation, pilot deployment, and commercial partnerships beyond it.
We publish results as they're validated. Not before.
Explore the R&D
In the Press
Pterofin and founder Wallace Kempkey have been covered by GeekWire and KOMO News, and have presented at Bloom Seattle and TEDxSanJuanIsland.
One Platform, Multiple Applications
The same oscillating-wing architecture adapts across a range of energy-harvesting applications:
Work With Us
Pterofin has moved from invention and early prototyping through independent laboratory testing and into advanced computational validation. We're looking for the partners who can help take it further — research collaborators, manufacturers, licensees, strategic investors, and organizations interested in acquiring the technology outright.
If you work in renewable energy, marine engineering, or environmental research — or you're simply looking for the next real opportunity in clean energy — we want to hear from you.
Contact Us
Renewable Energy That Moves Like Nature
Pterofin is developing oscillating-wing technology that harvests energy from wind and water the way birds and fish actually move through them — using a reciprocating, wing-like motion instead of a continuously rotating blade.
That single design choice opens up terrain conventional turbines can't reach: shallow rivers and canals, low and variable currents, and sites where a spinning rotor raises real concerns for the wildlife sharing that water or airspace.
Why Oscillating Wings
Conventional turbines need depth, or steady high-speed wind or current, to pencil out. That rules out most of the world's rivers, canals, and near-shore water — and it puts fast-moving rotor blades directly in the path of birds and aquatic life.
Pterofin's wing oscillates back and forth, changing its angle of attack through each stroke to convert fluid motion into mechanical power at high torque and low rotational speed. The result is a device that can generate meaningful power in places a turbine simply can't operate — quietly, and with a fundamentally different interaction profile with the environment around it.
Built to Yield, Not Fight
When conditions exceed normal operating range — a debris strike, a gust, an unusually strong current — a Pterofin wing is designed to sweep back with the flow rather than resist it. That yield response is intended to shed load, protect the structure, and reduce the severity of any wildlife interaction, before the wing returns to normal oscillation once conditions settle. It's the same principle a sailboat's rigging depends on in a gust: bend before you break.
The Evidence
Pterofin's Skimmer concept has already completed independent water-tunnel testing at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State University, through the Department of Energy-supported TEAMER program — producing a public dataset on its hydrodynamic performance now hosted in the Marine and Hydrokinetic Data Repository.
We're now working with the Department of Energy's National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR, formerly NREL), again through TEAMER, on the next step: a full computational modeling campaign to produce a validated power curve for the Skimmer across realistic operating conditions. That's the step that moves the Skimmer from promising to provable — and the foundation for prototype validation, pilot deployment, and commercial partnerships beyond it.
We publish results as they're validated. Not before.
Explore the R&D
In the Press
Pterofin and founder Wallace Kempkey have been covered by GeekWire and KOMO News, and have presented at Bloom Seattle and TEDxSanJuanIsland.
One Platform, Multiple Applications
The same oscillating-wing architecture adapts across a range of energy-harvesting applications:
- Skimmer™ — surface-oriented hydrokinetic energy for rivers, tidal currents, and canals; Pterofin's most-tested configuration and current R&D focus.
- Manta™ — a submerged configuration for tidal and ocean-current applications.
- Dragonfly™ — the same oscillating-wing principle applied to wind energy.
- Terrafin™ — a simplified, single-wing configuration.
Work With Us
Pterofin has moved from invention and early prototyping through independent laboratory testing and into advanced computational validation. We're looking for the partners who can help take it further — research collaborators, manufacturers, licensees, strategic investors, and organizations interested in acquiring the technology outright.
If you work in renewable energy, marine engineering, or environmental research — or you're simply looking for the next real opportunity in clean energy — we want to hear from you.
Contact Us
