Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TRIBLADE (Demonstration of a disruptive rotor blade concept for large wind turbines)

Teaser

Wind energy’s capital costs represents 78% of cost of energy (CoE)with around 54% attributable to wind turbine, from which the blades represents 30%. Therefore, wind turbines are the biggest single cost for any wind project, so it follows that the original equipment...

Summary

Wind energy’s capital costs represents 78% of cost of energy (CoE)with around 54% attributable to wind turbine, from which the blades represents 30%. Therefore, wind turbines are the biggest single cost for any wind project, so it follows that the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) would have the biggest impact on the CoE. However, OEMs can influence the CoE for wind projects by installing larger turbines, which is the current trend to reduce CoE. However, as the length of current rotor blades increase, their associated cost and weight increase at a faster rate than the turbine’s potential power output.
Ultimately, the technical and commercial performance of wind turbines is limited by blade technology, and as a consequence, finding new solutions becomes of the utmost importance. Therefore, leveraging on the opportunity provided by the SME Instrument, WF, together with Marstrom Composite (MC), aims to introduce a new and ground-breaking blade technology and concept – Triblade – to the wind energy market.

Work performed

During the first 12 months of the project we have made significant advances on the Triblade technology and its business. In more detail, a lightning protection system has been adapted for Triblade, the certification process has been initiated, the core technology task has been completed, we have raised the awareness of the project, the aerodynamic and aeroelastic properties have been studied and optimized for, the IPR situation has been improved, and the low-cost production and shipping process is under development.

Final results

The results and feedback from tests and demonstrations will be used to perform adjustments and calibration of both manufacturing process and product specifications in order to match end-user (i.e. OEMs and wind farm developers) needs and requirements. The demonstration and documentation of the claimed advantages and benefits as well as the certification will provide the basis for wide and fast deployment by clearly demonstrating to the end-users and other stakeholders the benefits associated with Triblade adoption.
The accomplishment of the project objectives will represent a significant business opportunity for WF&MC, with expected accumulated sales revenue of €84.8M and profits of €39.8M and create at least 73 new direct jobs, 6 years after the commercialisation.

Website & more info

More info: http://winfoor.com/.