In the third blog for our Meet the Team series, we would like to introduce you to our Design Engineer, Billy Hannon. Billy started with DesignPro Renewables in May 2017 before the company kicked off it’s Horizon 2020 SME Instrument funded project to develop and commercialise two strategically sized turbines for river and estuary applications.
With an impressive career history working as a Mechanical Designer for big factories and plants around Ireland, the challenge of designing hydrokinetic devices was a welcomed positive and new career change for him. As a sailor himself, he understands the movement of water and although he is new to the Marine Renewables field, Billy has always had an interest in this type of technology and had been following DesignPro’s development from the very beginning. We asked him a couple of questions to learn more about his background and current work for the company:
What attracted you to this position?
“The whole idea of what DesignPro Renewables is working to achieve is really impressive and I am excited to be a part of it.”
In September this year, DesignPro successfully deployed their smaller, 25kW turbine at SEENEOH in Bordeaux, France. Billy was there on site for a number of weeks during the preparation in the lead up to the deployment and also for installation works in September and October. This was a highlight for the entire team and Billy was there first hand to see designs that he collaboratively worked on come into fruition.
Billy with the DesignPro Renewables and SEENEOH team at the Quay in Bordeaux, France before assembling the turbines to the access platform.
Billy and our Electrical Engineer, Ihor on the 25kW turbine after deployment at SEENEOH in Bordeaux, France.
Billy is currently working on the design for the second 60kW machine. The learnings from the 25kW turbine has already proven to be extremely beneficial and will be applied to the design of this device and the overall hydrodynamics of the machine. This device is much larger than the 25kW, but our design team are up for the challenge!
Can you give a fun fact about yourself?
“I have a passion for travelling and have been to over 30 different countries including India and different parts of South America. I have seen first hand poor and underdeveloped communities with unreliable power sources. To be a part of a company working toward providing sustainable solutions for communities like this, is something that I am really proud of.”
It is great having Billy’s knowledge and expertise on the team. The New Year will see further exciting developments for our technology and Horizon 2020 project. We are on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and post regularly on our website, if you wish to follow us for updates!