Project description
Weatherproof, inflatable enclosure for blade maintenance and repair
Operation and maintenance account for nearly 20–25 % of the levelised energy cost of wind turbines. Currently, wind farm maintenance is conducted in situ by highly skilled rope access technicians. The EU-funded Ventura Habitat project will develop an inflatable enclosure that provides a protective working environment for blade maintenance and repair. This protective habitat is weatherproof, keeping the ambient temperature and humidity under control to ensure effective operations. This game-changing technology will greatly help wind farm owners reduce maintenance costs, improve annual energy production and boost the competitiveness of renewable energy.
Objective
GEV Wind Power is one of Europe's leading wind-turbine maintenance companies with teams working on more than 40 wind farms both on and offshore every year. With a presence throughout Europe and North America, GEV Wind Power is a truly global service provider. We understand that it is important to wind energy maintenance companies to find new ways of delivering core services to reduce the cost of energy provision. To realise this vision, we commit significant financial resources to in-house R&D and are constantly looking at technologies that fit well for Wind Energy. We have now developed a patented habitat solution that retrofits to market available access platforms. This creates the perfect protective working environment for blade maintenance and repairs to be completed. Maintenance productivity is increased and, with the added benefit of 24 hour working, GEV Wind Power are able to eliminate the cost uncertainty of weather downtime and will help wind farm owners reduce maintenance costs, improve Annual Energy Production (AEP) and the competitiveness of wind generated energy. Trials completed onshore with our Ventura Habitat prototype using two different access platforms (Power Climber and Kaeufer) in varying weather conditions and ranging between 30 metres and 100 metres high, with successful deployment demonstrating the flexibility and operability of the Habitat in a real-life environment. The overall objective of this development project is to create a commercially ready Ventura Habitat system, with validated results through field trials. This will enable us to achieve our overall commercial objective to become the leading blade maintenance services provider in Europe and North America. We forecast a total revenue of €20 million and a profit of €5 million 5 years post-commercialisation, with a breakeven on investment after 3.43 years and an ROI of 150%.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.3.3. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.2.1.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
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H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
HU13 9PB HESSLE
United Kingdom
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.