Periodic Reporting for period 3 - POWDERBLADE (Commercialisation of Advanced Composite Material Technology: Carbon-Glass Hybrid in PowderEpoxy for Large (60-100m) Wind Turbine Blades)
Período documentado: 2018-11-01 hasta 2019-12-31
Designing and developing improved materials has been identified as key to achieving the goals of European Innovation Policy, in line with the EUROPE 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Advanced materials represent “an invisible revolution” introducing new functionalities and improved properties, adding value to existing products and processes and ultimately enabling commercial and industrial success through sustainable systemic changes. Advanced materials have been identified as a Key Enabling Technology (KET) an area of key industrial competence determining Europe’s global competitiveness. The PowderBlade Project has delivered to market an advanced new materials technology with significant market disruptive potential. The renewables energy market was the initial market targeted in this project for commercialisation. The POWDERBLADE materials technology responded to the conflicting demands of the renewable energy sector for longer, lighter, more efficient blades but at a lower cost.
The objectives of PowderBlade, as described in Section 1.1 of the DoA, above are outlined below:
Objective 1: To implement a commercialisation strategy leading to increased market awareness of the benefits of the new materials technology, successful demonstration of the new technology in a commercial setting, development of a sales order pipeline and achievement of the first commercial contracts by the end of the project.
Objective 2: To achieve 20% cost reduction by maximising the allowable strain and strength of the carbon fibre/glass fibre hybrid materials from powder epoxy – this can be achieved by better, through-thickness infusion and better fibre alignment than standard resin infusion.
Objective 3: To demonstrate a potential reduced cycle time of less than 24 hours for very large blades (c. 100m) by using powder epoxy and hybrid carbon/glass construction of the blade, thus achieving cost optimisation and supporting successful commercialisation of the new technology.
The objectives of PowderBlade, as described in Section 1.1 of the DoA, above are outlined below:
Objective 1: To implement a commercialisation strategy leading to increased market awareness of the benefits of the new materials technology, successful demonstration of the new technology in a commercial setting, development of a sales order pipeline and achievement of the first commercial contracts by the end of the project.
Objective 2: To achieve 20% cost reduction by maximising the allowable strain and strength of the carbon fibre/glass fibre hybrid materials from powder epoxy – this can be achieved by better, through-thickness infusion and better fibre alignment than standard resin infusion.
Objective 3: To demonstrate a potential reduced cycle time of less than 24 hours for very large blades (c. 100m) by using powder epoxy and hybrid carbon/glass construction of the blade, thus achieving cost optimisation and supporting successful commercialisation of the new technology.
A detailed business plan and commercialisation strategy were prepared as part of WP2. In addition, a market review was undertaken to understand the key players in the market and identify recent technology trends. The first commercial products, based on the PowderBlade technology, have been delivered to customers.
An End-User Future Innovation Panel was set up and a meetings were held with subject experts to ensure that the project stayed aligned to stakeholder needs. A communication and dissemination plan was written and implemented to ensure that the benefits of the technology were communicated successfully to all stakeholders. In addition, a project website was created (www.powderblade.com) and research results from PowderBlade have been reported in leading academic publications.
Extensive work has been carried out by EireComposites and the University of Edinburgh to characterise glass-fibre and carbon-fibre powder epoxy materials. The results confirm that the powder epoxy materials result in excellent wet-out, improved fibre-alignment and higher fibre-volume (60%) than competing manufacturing processes. Testing at coupon level has shown that these improvements result in better mechanical performance. Design work, performed by Suzlon in Work Package 4 shows how improved mechanical performance translates into reduced material usage and cost savings.
A full-scale mould for a wind-blade root-section was fabricated and used to manufacture two full-scale blade roots from glass fibre and powder epoxy. In addition, two large carbon fibre spar caps were manufactured. Problems of kinking in the first spar cap were resolved through an improvement of the manufacturing process and no defects were present in the second demonstrator.
The total time to produce a full-scale part, based on the current processing cycle-time, is eight hours. This is a considerable improvement over current techniques that have a cycle-time of 24 hours.
A 6-meter torsion box demonstrator was designed by Suzlon, manufactured by EireComposites and tested by the University of Edinburgh. The test results validated the design work and confirmed that that manufacturing process was fit for purpose.
An End-User Future Innovation Panel was set up and a meetings were held with subject experts to ensure that the project stayed aligned to stakeholder needs. A communication and dissemination plan was written and implemented to ensure that the benefits of the technology were communicated successfully to all stakeholders. In addition, a project website was created (www.powderblade.com) and research results from PowderBlade have been reported in leading academic publications.
Extensive work has been carried out by EireComposites and the University of Edinburgh to characterise glass-fibre and carbon-fibre powder epoxy materials. The results confirm that the powder epoxy materials result in excellent wet-out, improved fibre-alignment and higher fibre-volume (60%) than competing manufacturing processes. Testing at coupon level has shown that these improvements result in better mechanical performance. Design work, performed by Suzlon in Work Package 4 shows how improved mechanical performance translates into reduced material usage and cost savings.
A full-scale mould for a wind-blade root-section was fabricated and used to manufacture two full-scale blade roots from glass fibre and powder epoxy. In addition, two large carbon fibre spar caps were manufactured. Problems of kinking in the first spar cap were resolved through an improvement of the manufacturing process and no defects were present in the second demonstrator.
The total time to produce a full-scale part, based on the current processing cycle-time, is eight hours. This is a considerable improvement over current techniques that have a cycle-time of 24 hours.
A 6-meter torsion box demonstrator was designed by Suzlon, manufactured by EireComposites and tested by the University of Edinburgh. The test results validated the design work and confirmed that that manufacturing process was fit for purpose.
PowderBlade contributed to the expected impact of the FTI work program as follows. The project expedited the market take-up of an innovative materials technology for the production of larger, lower cost blades in the wind energy sector. POWDERBLADE objectives and impact are directly aligned with the Horizon 2020 strategy on Key Enabling Technologies (KET) – Advanced Materials development, as well as the Energy Societal Challenge, which is designed to support transition to a reliable, sustainable and competitive energy system.
Both EireComposites and Suzlon are ideally placed to push this technology into the market as quickly as possible and commercial rather than technical activities have driven the project from the outset.
The work program aims for enhanced competitiveness and growth of business partners in the consortium, measured in terms of turnover and job creation. EireComposites has grown its turnover and increased its profitability and has hired additional staff to work on wind blade manufacturing tasks that are beyond the R&D scope of the project.
The outputs of the project will reduce wind turbine cost and increase productivity through more widespread market deployment of larger blades and faster cycle times during manufacture. The reduction in costs and increase in productivity for the wind energy industry will lead to a reduction in the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for the European citizen who will be the ultimate beneficiary of this innovation.
The project has already resulted in full scale demonstrators for carbon fibre spars, blade roots and a torsion box. The first commercial parts, based on the technology, have been delivered to customers.
Both EireComposites and Suzlon are ideally placed to push this technology into the market as quickly as possible and commercial rather than technical activities have driven the project from the outset.
The work program aims for enhanced competitiveness and growth of business partners in the consortium, measured in terms of turnover and job creation. EireComposites has grown its turnover and increased its profitability and has hired additional staff to work on wind blade manufacturing tasks that are beyond the R&D scope of the project.
The outputs of the project will reduce wind turbine cost and increase productivity through more widespread market deployment of larger blades and faster cycle times during manufacture. The reduction in costs and increase in productivity for the wind energy industry will lead to a reduction in the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for the European citizen who will be the ultimate beneficiary of this innovation.
The project has already resulted in full scale demonstrators for carbon fibre spars, blade roots and a torsion box. The first commercial parts, based on the technology, have been delivered to customers.