From 1872 to 1877, la Cour was the deputy manager of the newly founded Danish Meteorological Institute while also being active as an inventor. His grant from the Carlsberg Foundation in 1876–1877 – the foundation’s first – was approved to allow him to continue work on his telegraphy invention ‘undisturbed by commercial considerations’.

He sought to patent his invention in the United States but lost out to the American inventor Elisha Gray (1835–1901). Later he was employed at the folk high school Askov Højskole as a science teacher, a vocation he pursued with great dedication alongside his practice as an inventor.

While there, la Cour developed a passion for the social conditions in Denmark’s rural areas. He had the idea that wind power could be used to bring electricity to the countryside via decentralised power stations. Through experiments with wind tunnels and prototypes, he developed what he called ‘the ideal wind turbine’ for electricity production.

The basic challenge for wind power is that the turbines only generate power when the wind is blowing. To address this issue, la Cour developed a visionary technical solution that inspires respect even today. He built a demonstration model at the school based on electrolysis and hydrogen.

Surplus power from the school’s wind turbines was passed through water, where it split the water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen was subsequently used for lighting at the school. The method was not without risk, and an explosion once blew out a number of windows. Fortunately, no one was injured, but la Cour subsequently opted to store the power in batteries.

La Cour was not content to simply tinker with inventions in his own laboratory but wanted to use his abilities as an inventor to find good solutions to the challenges faced by rural areas. To this end, he founded Dansk Vind Elektricitets Selskab (the Danish Wind Electricity Society) to help establish local power utilities.

Multiple wind turbines were connected to large lead batteries capable of storing electricity when the wind was blowing. The accumulated power could then be used for lighting and machinery at the farms and small craft workshops in the villages.

The first power-generating wind turbines that la Cour built at Askov Højskole was used for these purposes but also for training rural electricians – known as ‘sparkies’. The concept of small power facilities to cover local demand for electricity was so far ahead of its time that, even today, it is being implemented in developing countries.

La Cour’s efforts to develop wind power went far beyond a hobby at Askov Højskole. His work inspired researchers throughout the world and laid the groundwork for Denmark’s later successes in establishing power utility co-ops, the country’s lead position in the wind power industry and the current focus on local, sustainable energy systems.

He also made his technical interests a part of the school’s educational profile through a targeted effort to boost courses in natural sciences and maths at Danish folk high schools – to the consternation of N. F. S. Grundtvig (1783–1872), who considered the subjects ungodly.

To la Cour, however, the history of natural sciences was the very key to learning: folk high school students should follow the same path as the ‘human spirit’. With this approach, he coupled his inventive urge with an educational vision, thus leaving a lasting imprint on both Danish energy and education.

The chapter is written by Kristian Sjøgren.