Post #74: Vortex - Venture Highlight

As part of the NOA2025 programme for Narwhale Ventures, I recently caught up with Joseph Valez, founder of Klimatech Innovative Solutions, a startup based in the Philippines working on decentralised wind energy. Their core product, the Vortex Wind Turbine, is a compact vertical-axis turbine designed for off-grid, coastal, and low-infrastructure settings — offering energy resilience in places where solar isn’t always an option.

Vortex is more than a hardware play. The team is building a circular manufacturing model using recycled ocean plastics to produce the turbine housing, addressing both energy access and plastic pollution in one shot.

They’re now currently seeking funding to scale production, improve efficiency, and build distribution and co-development partnerships across Southeast Asia and beyond.

If you’re interested in decentralised energy, ocean-linked climate hardware, or regional energy resilience — worth getting in touch.

Enjoy!

1. The Problem – Power Gaps in Coastal and Off-Grid Communities

For millions living in off-grid or underserved areas across the Philippines and broader Asia, electricity remains unreliable, expensive, or entirely inaccessible. These are often communities dependent on fishing, small-scale agriculture, and seasonal tourism — where fuel costs eat into margins and power outages disrupt livelihoods.

Worse still, the conventional solutions don’t fit:

• Diesel generators are polluting, costly, and volatile in price.

• Solar is growing fast but has storage and land-use limitations in many rural or coastal sites.

• Conventional wind turbines require large open areas and consistent wind direction — a luxury not available in many island or mountainous regions.

Layer in typhoons, fragile infrastructure, and rising climate pressures, and the need for resilient, distributed energy becomes urgent — not just nice to have.

Klimatech saw this gap early on. What started as a local solution to rural electricity scarcity is now growing into something with real regional potential — tackling both the energy transition and plastic pollution by producing turbines from recycled ocean plastics.

2. The Solution – A Vertical Turbine That Works With Nature

Klimatech’s flagship product, the Vortex Wind Turbine, is a compact, vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) designed specifically for the fragmented, storm-prone geographies of Southeast Asia. Unlike traditional horizontal turbines, the Vortex doesn’t rely on a fixed wind direction — making it ideal for coastal, mountainous, and urban settings where conditions constantly shift.

But what really sets it apart is how it’s made: from recycled ocean plastics.

That circular approach tackles two major challenges in one — energy access and marine plastic waste — while keeping production costs down. The turbines are currently manufactured in-house using extrusion techniques, and the team is exploring injection moulding as they scale.

https://klimatech.ph/#page-1

Key features:

• Modular and scalable: suitable for households, resorts, street lighting, and small commercial sites.

• Low-maintenance: fewer moving parts than conventional turbines, which reduces wear in harsh weather.

• Wind-agnostic: captures energy regardless of direction, making it well-suited for island microgrids.

• Disaster-resilient: optional sensors can support early warning systems in typhoon-prone areas.

• Battery-ready: Klimatech partners with battery providers to offer full install packages with storage.

From hotels and coastal barangays to island municipalities and agrifishery clusters, the Vortex turbine is already gaining interest — with early traction including sales through the Foundations and LOIs from both enterprise and government sectors.

3. The Team & Partnerships Behind Klimatech

Klimatech is led by a lean but technically accomplished team, bringing together engineering, innovation, and grassroots market knowledge — all tied together by a strong sense of mission around sustainability and community empowerment.

Core Team:

• Joseph Valdez, MIB – Chief Executive Officer

    BSc Financial Management, Master in Innovation and Business

    Vision-led founder focused on decentralised energy access.

  
  

• Engr. Alsus Ros Adiaton – Chief Design Officer

    BS Manufacturing Engineering

    Leads product architecture and functional design.

  
  

• Engr. Jose Luis Villalon – Chief Build and Research Officer

    BS + MSc Mechanical Engineering

  
  

• Engr. Arvin Gastardo – Chief Operations Officer

    BS Aeronautics Engineering, Master in Innovation and Business

Klimatech is currently incubated by the AIM–Dado Banatao Incubator and part of the Narwhale Ventures NOA2025 Accelerator, where they’ve begun engaging with international partners and building out their commercial roadmap.

They’ve already secured pilot sales and are in discussions with early partners across Asia, with Letters of Intent signed and planning the production capacity scaling in-house.

Now, they’re actively seeking:

• looking to raise $500K in seed funding

• Asian distribution and co-development partners

• Manufacturing support to shift away from imported components and accelerate scale

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/klimatech-innovative-solutions-inc_klimatech-cleanenergy-promate120-activity-7286596517107249153-IHKV/

4. Future Possibilities – From Island Grids to Resilient Coastal Systems

The venture's current focus is on getting Vortex into the hands of users who need it most — off-grid households, resorts, small businesses, and coastal municipalities across the Philippines.

But the potential application of modular, low-footprint wind systems like Vortex goes far wider.

Here’s where this could go next:

• Island Energy Resilience

    Archipelagic regions across Southeast Asia face the same challenges as rural Philippines — energy insecurity, fuel dependence, and infrastructure gaps. Vortex’s urban and off-grid versatility makes it well-suited for island grids and climate adaptation plans.

• Tourism & Eco-Resorts

    Hotels and resorts are actively looking for sustainable energy solutions that don’t ruin the view or require large land parcels. Vortex units can be configured discreetly and combined with batteries or solar for hybrid off-grid setups.

• Plastic-to-Power Loops

    With the ability to incorporate recycled ocean plastics in manufacturing, there’s future potential to tie energy access directly to local circular economy projects — where community-led plastic collection feeds into localised power generation assets.

• Modular Disaster Response

    Vortex could serve in rapid-deployment scenarios post-typhoon or in humanitarian settings — where temporary, clean power is essential and permanent infrastructure has failed.

5. Closing Remarks

Vortex isn’t promising a shiny, distant solution — it’s building practical tools that work today, for people who need them now.

From tackling unreliable power in remote communities to piloting small-scale renewable infrastructure for tourism, Klimatech’s approach feels refreshingly grounded. They’re combining in-house engineering with recycled materials, focusing on where tech meets need, not just where it trends.

Like many early-stage climate ventures, they face the usual constraints: funding, manufacturing partnerships, and finding the right strategic collaborators to push them beyond the Philippines.

But the intent is clear — this is about distributed energy access that’s resilient, low-footprint, and tailored to coastal and island realities.

They’re currently looking to raise to expand production, secure co-developers, and support regional distribution. If you’re active in off-grid energy, plastics circularity, or Southeast Asia-focused cleantech, this could be a venture worth talking to.

You can learn more at klimatech.ph or reach out to their CEO, Joseph Valdez (he's a great guy).

And as always — if you’re building or backing in the Blue Economy, feel free to drop me a line.

– Henry

Oceantech Insider