Rooftop wind has a credibility problem. A first generation of products over-promised on siting flexibility, underdelivered on energy yields, and in many cases never reached certification. The physics was always the explanation — wind over a building is not wind over open terrain, and ignoring that fact is what broke the category’s reputation.
Airplus Renewables is fixing that with XEVA, a compact, high-efficiency vertical-axis wind system engineered for rooftops, industrial sites, remote locations and off-grid environments. Silent, 24/7, and built to deliver a reliable power profile rather than raw instantaneous generation.
What Hatch did
Hatch joined the XEVA programme in May 2024 as the engineering partner, working across the full arc from prototype to certification. Generator selection came first matched to the rotor characteristics, operating envelope and power-conditioning architecture. From there, baseline CFD established how the turbine interacts with real building-flow conditions. Iterative aerodynamic development followed across warehouse, multi-level commercial and dense urban rooftop typologies. Wind-tunnel validation tested the CFD predictions against physical measurement.
The engineering conclusion that reshaped the product: on a building, siting , not the turbine is the binding constraint. Empirical siting rules cannot fully predict every real-world rooftop. Post-install repositioning capability became a product requirement, not an option. That is a mounting-system decision, and it changed the product architecture.
The programme also produced a complete certification test programme covering IEC 61400-2 and MCS for both UK and EU markets, documentation, test reports and certification submission built to take a small wind product from prototype to market-ready in 18 months. Hatch now offers this as a standalone service to any small wind manufacturer navigating the same pathway.
XEVA is now in certification the gate the first generation never passed cleanly, and the one that will set it apart.
Where it stands
Engineering partnership ongoing. Certification live.
Building a small wind product and need certification support? Talk to us.
Building a deep tech product that needs engineering and commercial strategy in the same room? Talk to us.
