As part of its sustainability approach, Covestro actively pursues the development of materials and technologies for renewable energy generation with a focus on wind power. In particular, the company developed an innovative technology for manufacturing wind turbine rotor blades. The rotor blades are fabricated in a special process from a polyurethane resin and a glass fiber fabric. The company has now received the important DNV GL certification for its newly developed resin system in China.
DNV GL is a leading international industry standard for the safety, reliability and performance of wind turbines, and is also the market entry permit to the wind energy industry in China. Covestro is the world’s first company that received the polyurethane DNV GL certification in 2016. ”Now we obtained the second certification for serving Chinese wind blade manufacturers,” says Kim Klausen, global head of Covestro′s wind energy program. “This brings us a big step closer to our goal of increasing the efficiency of wind power generation.”
Taking advantage of the excellent mechanical properties of the polyurethane resin system, wind blades may become lighter and longer through optimized blade design. With faster curing processes and improved processing properties compared to epoxy resins, productivity can be significantly increased. All these benefits will provide a cost competitive solution for the wind industry. The application of PU resin in the wind energy industry opens up a new realm of possibilities for this high performance resin. Covestro is the inventor of polyurethane chemistry, celebrating the 80th anniversary since the patent registration of this truly versatile polymer, and continues to be a global leader in the field of polyurethanes.
As the Chinese government’s Strategic Energy Action Plan (2014-2020) and the national Energy 13th Five Year Plan indicated, the cumulative integrated capacity of wind energy will achieve 210 Gigawatts by 2020. With the highest total capacity installed worldwide, China represents around 43 percent of new installations in the global wind energy industry in 2016.
The limitation of current materials and technologies makes it very challenging for the industry to improve production efficiency and to produce lighter and longer wind blades. With its polyurethane solutions, Covestro continuously pushes boundaries of what is possible. The company collaborates with partners along the value chain to offer a high performance resin which gives wind blade and wind turbine manufacturers the competitive edge. With strong R&D investments, a global production network and this newly acquired DNV GL certification, Covestro is the frontrunner in addressing the wind energy industry with PU solutions.
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