The riblet structures of BASF Novaflex BladeUp film provide a 3% increase in power output.
Energiekontor AG has announced a partnership with the international maintenance company Omega-Tools GmbH to gradually equip its wind turbines with the functional film Novaflex BladeUp, developed by the Coatings division of BASF.
The microscopic line structures of the film generate an increase in the yield of wind turbines, making them more efficient. The riblets reduce the formation of unfavourable air turbulence on the surface of the blades, allowing to use a larger proportion of the wind for generating electricity.
“An integration into the manufacturing processes of the blade manufacturers would also be possible, so that new wind turbines can directly generate a higher electricity yield,” has explained Jörg Lenz, head of the Beyond Paint Solutions division at BASF.
BASF Novaflex BladeUp was installed on a 1.3-megawatt SWT 1,300 turbine in Ilsede (Germany). The subsequent measurement campaign led by the involved companies – that has lasted over a year – has reported a 3% increase in power output.
“We are impressed with the significant increase in power yield with Novaflex BladeUp. This makes it all the more important that we implement this option for our plants in a timely manner and thus contribute to the energy transition,” has stated Carsten Schwarz, a member of the Management Board of Energiekontor AG.
Omega-Tools GmbH will be in charge of equipping other wind turbines of the tested type with Novaflex BladeUp. In the long term, Energiekontor aims to equip all available turbines (their own and those managed by their company) with the film developed by BASF.
“The subsequent application of the functional film to existing wind turbines is feasible without long idle times of the plant and can be performed for every model,” has declared Olaf Dostalek, the managing director of Omega-Tools GmbH.