PROJECT
10% lost of global wind energy for ice build-up
To set the stage it’s important to highlight that about 6% of the annual global wind energy production is lost due to icing. It is in line with the fact that 30% of global windfarms are in cold regions, like mountains. Europe is particularly hit since about 94% of the windfarms have suffered icing events.
With ice build-up on blades, turbines must be stopped for several reasons: loss of aerodynamic efficiency, mechanical overload, and high risk of Ice throw causing personal injuries and damages to closer turbines and infrastructure.
Unsolved need
The current solutions to prevent and reduce the icing impact on wind farm have many limitations regarding integrability, efficiency, competitiveness and durability providing a huge opportunity for NanoWings as an innovative passive system.
The active systems are mainly based on expensive (100 k€) and high power electric heaters and, in severe conditions, hot water jet from helicopters, as shown.
As passive systems the operational stops and coating are the most common solutions, showing the best compromise between efficiency and integrability, but both imply long downtimes, and hazardous working conditions for coating application, as shown. It’s reduced lifespan increase total costs.
NanoWings, instead, with its high performance and extremely small thickness of half a micron, can be quickly applied in-situ using commercial drones without mechanical and aerodynamic side effects.
Nanowings Technology
In detail, NanoWings is an effective and cost-efficient passive anti-icing technology comprising 2 innovations:
-First a layered and transparent nanocoating of super-glue and Teflon nanofibers loaded with Active nanoparticles that via a bio-inspired, Loto foils morphology, reaches outstanding hydrophobic, antifouling, antistatic and UV protection properties.
-Second is in-situ application system: an innovative and portable mini-electrospinning device .
NanoWings technology entails significant advancements with respect to the current anti-icing alternatives reducing ice adhesion over 20% with just 5 g/m2 instead of 200 of the current paints and cutting related VOC emissions from solvents. Thus, to protect an entire turbine for at least 3 years only 4kg of Nanowings coating and 8 hours are required.
NanoWings will result in less material and fabrication costs while reducing downtimes, environmental impact, and risks during O&M operations.
Business case & benefits for wind energy
ECONOMIC
BENEFITS
ENVIRONMENTAL
BENEFITS
SOCIETAL
BENEFITS
Nanowings has the potential to increase 2% the global wind energy production with economic benefits on energy cost and environmental benefits saving 4 million tons/year of CO2 emission only in EU.
Nanowings will provide even an extra societal benefit reducing dangerous working conditions for O&M operators creating skilled positions as drone operators without gender bias.
Project's details
| Starting date | 1st January, 2023 |
| Project duration | 36 months |
| Coordinator | Linari Engineering srl |
| Project officer | --- |
| Project Manager | Roberta Riu |
| Grant Agreement | 101099620 |
| Funding Institution | EU |
| Funded under | The European Innovation Council (EIC) |
| Funding scheme | HORIZON-AG - HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based |
| Working program | HORIZON-EIC-2022-TRANSITIONOPEN-01 - EIC Transition Open 2022 |
| Call identifier | HORIZON-EIC-2022-TRANSITION-01 |
| Cost | €2,495,626.25 |
| Requested EU contribution | €2,495,626.25 |
Principal Investigator
| Linari Engineering srl | Stefano Linari |
| Danmarks Tekniske Universitet | Taeseong Kim |
| Eologix sensor technology GMBH | Michael Moser |
| Enel Green Power / Enel Green Power Spain | Chiara Fioretti |