The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced $30 million in grants to advance composite and additive manufacturing processes for large wind turbines, including wind energy systems for offshore use.
In different geographic regions, wind power is gaining acceptance as a reliable source of clean energy for homes and businesses. Increased investment in next-generation materials will remove financial barriers to large-scale deployment, while also supporting US domestic manufacturing and clean energy goals."
Projects funded through this initiative will strongly advance the Department of Energy's offshore wind supply chain roadmap, support President Biden's recently announced priorities for offshore wind programs, and further advance the U.S. domestic goal of deploying 30GW of offshore wind by 2030 and achieving a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.
The project, led by the Office of Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, will aim to improve the manufacturability and performance of composites related to wind energy technology.
Project topics include:
I, large fan blade additive manufacturing
This project seeks to build on existing research in polymer-based additive manufacturing to support and advance more cost-effective large-scale fan blades. Polymer-based additive manufacturing often enables rapid prototyping, processing, manufacturing, and testing while enabling novel designs and process configurations.
II. Additive manufacturing of non-blade fan components
This topic seeks innovative additive manufacturing solutions to achieve cost reduction and performance improvement of non-blade wind turbine system components. The focus is on non-blade components that can be improved through additive manufacturing processing and associated design and process innovation/integration.
III. Large fan blades: Advanced manufacturing, materials and sustainability
The topic covers four hot areas: automation, digitization, sustainability, and modular blade structures/connections. At the same time, projects that address existing challenges in wind turbine manufacturing, and build on previous work in these hot areas, are what DOE is looking for.
