[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/11641\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ERethinking wind power\u2019s towers and turbines \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt first glance, the wind-turbine tower that rises from the green landscape in the Swedish municipality of Skara looks like any other. It reaches a height of 105 metres and, at the top, supports a familiar trio of big rotating blades.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut unlike most wind-turbine towers, which are made of steel, this one is wooden. It represents the first commercial installation by Swedish engineering company Modvion \u2013 and it could point to the future of wind energy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETowering wood\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen it comes to renewable energy, wood can make wind power even greener by serving as the material for the towers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat\u2019s more, wood can help wind turbines to become cheaper and more powerful, providing an economic incentive on top of the environmental one, according to Modvion Chief Executive Officer Otto Lundman.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Wooden turbine towers are lighter, more modular and can be built taller than steel towers,\u2019 said Lundman.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EModvion received EU funding to advance the goal of high-altitude wind turbines with wooden towers. The\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/959151\u0022\u003Eproject\u003C\/a\u003E ran from October 2020 through September 2023.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe tower of the Skara turbine\u0026nbsp;emerged from the project and is made of laminated wood from Modvion\u2019s factory in Gothenburg located about 130 kilometres to the southwest.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt took around a year to build and entered into operation for Swedish power company Varberg Energi in February 2024. Denmark-based Vestas supplied the turbine.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Building and designing towers like this requires large investments,\u2019 said Lundman. \u2018EU funding was instrumental in allowing us to develop this technology.\u0027\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGoing for growth\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWind energy has grown rapidly across Europe in recent years and in 2022 met\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu\/research-area\/energy\/wind-energy_en\u0022\u003E16%\u003C\/a\u003E of the EU\u2019s electricity needs. Wind also accounted for 37% of the electricity generated from renewable sources in the EU in 2021.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/windeurope.org\/newsroom\/press-releases\/the-eu-built-a-record-17-gw-of-new-wind-energy-in-2023-wind-now-19-percent-of-electricity-production\/\u0022\u003Erecord\u003C\/a\u003E 17 gigawatts of wind energy was built in Europe in 2023, according to industry association WindEurope.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EThe higher you go, the more wind you can get.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EOtto Lundman, Modvion\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENonetheless, wind power must expand further for the EU to meet goals of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by 55% in 2030 compared with 1990 levels and increasing the market share of renewables to 42.5% at the end of the decade from around 23% currently.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo help achieve those targets, 30 gigawatts of wind turbines need to be built every year between now and 2030.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe thinking in some industry circles is that new designs able to boost profitability are needed, driving scientific efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The wind energy sector has done a great job of incrementally decreasing the cost of energy in recent decades,\u2019 said Dr James Carroll, an associate professor at the University of Strathclyde in the UK. \u2018But cost improvements in traditional turbines have been slowing down. That\u2019s why we need to look for more radical improvements.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECount the gains\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s where Modvion\u2019s wooden wind-turbine tower offers promise \u2013 for three notable economic reasons.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne has to do with strength. The laminated veneer lumber used by Modvion is 55% stronger per weight than the steel traditionally used in wind-turbine towers, according to the company.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EModvion calls its engineered wood \u201cnature\u2019s carbon fibre\u201d.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother reason for optimism is weight. A wooden tower is a third lighter than a comparable steel one and, as a result, is easier to transport.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen there\u2019s height. With the strength and transport advantages of wood, Modvion wants to build taller towers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The higher you go, the more wind you can get,\u2019 said Lundman.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBroader bases\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo understand the technical challenge with towers, consider that they are built like an upside-down cone: broader below and narrower on top. The taller the tower, the broader the base needs to be.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETraditionally, this is achieved by stacking steel cylinders onto each other. But above a certain tower height it becomes virtually impossible to transport the base cylinders over roads because of their size and weight.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy contrast, a wooden construction uses C-shaped panels, which are glued together to form a cylinder. This makes the construction more modular and the shipping of parts much easier \u2013 a bit like IKEA for wind-turbine towers.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing similar, modular steel structures would be inefficient because they would have to be bolted together, greatly increasing costs, according to Lundman.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EClimate relief\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond the economic advantages of wood are the environmental ones.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWood is better for the climate than steel. Steel production is energy-intensive and involves the burning of fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018By switching from a steel to a wooden tower,\u0026nbsp;you reduce the emissions from producing the tower by 90%,\u2019 said Lundman.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause forests are important storers of carbon,\u0026nbsp;Modvion sources its wood from sustainably managed ones in Scandinavia. The company\u2019s towers can also be recycled after decommissioning, offering another green gain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFollowing the EU funding, Modvion\u2019s priority is to scale up production.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Producing wood towers like this hasn\u2019t been done before at an industrial scale,\u2019 said Lundman. \u2018We, for example, needed to make the lamination machines ourselves. They simply didn\u2019t exist for our purpose in these sizes.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe said Modvion aims to have a larger volume factory up and running by 2027. The objective is to supply 10% of the global wind-energy market within a decade.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETurbine test\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWork on the next generation of wind-energy equipment involves not just the towers but also the turbines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s a radical new idea, but that\u2019s what makes the research so fun.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor William Leithead, XROTOR\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother EU-funded project has reimagined what a wind turbine might look like and how it would operate.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECalled\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/101007135\u0022\u003EXROTOR\u003C\/a\u003E, the project has examined the feasibility of a vertical-axis turbine combined with horizontal-axis secondary rotors instead of just the conventional horizontal axis. A vertical-axis turbine rotates around its tower.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The idea goes back more than 10 years,\u2019 said William Leithead, a professor of systems and control at the University of Strathclyde. \u2018I saw that vertical-axis wind turbines without secondary rotors just couldn\u2019t work in an economically efficient way and started thinking about a solution.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELeithead and Carroll lead XROTOR, which is due to end in April 2024 after three years and four months.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile vertical-axis turbines can be placed closer together, they have a big disadvantage: their blades turn more slowly. That increases the turbine drive, train size and cost for the given energy generated, weakening the economic case for such a design.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Fundamentally, they are too costly for the energy they generate,\u2019 said Leithead.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EX-shaped rotor\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn response, the XROTOR researchers adapted the concept. They designed a vertical-axis turbine with an X-shaped primary rotor that has smaller, horizontal-axis turbines at the tips.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe secondary rotors rotate very fast and generate the energy of the turbine. This design could combine the advantages of both vertical-axis and horizontal-axis turbines.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018You can place these turbines closer together offshore,\u2019 said Leithead. \u2018Conventional turbines produce a wind wake, which means you can\u2019t put them too close together or their performance will be affected.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt present, wind farms are being pushed farther out to sea to find unfilled areas. That increases costs because turbines need to be more resistant to extreme weather and more cables need to be laid.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf turbines could be placed closer together, more electricity could be produced nearer to shore.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The impact of this could be huge,\u0027 said Leithead. \u2018We\u2019re looking here at a cost saving of 20% compared to similar size horizontal-axis turbines.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile it has gone through simulations, the new concept\u0026nbsp;has yet to be built and tested in a real-life setting, so the potential benefits still need to be proven.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELeithead and his colleagues are preparing to share the XROTOR results and to seek follow-up financing from private and public investors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It will take at least four years and probably more before we will see this concept in the real world,\u2019 said Leithead. \u2018It\u2019s a radical new idea, but that\u2019s what makes the research so fun.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded by the EU\u2019s Horizon Programme including, in the case of Modvion, via the European Innovation Council (EIC). The views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. 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