Tuesday, 27 September 2016
14:30 - 16:00 The supply chain - thinking ahead!
Supply chain  
          

This supply chain session looks at opportunities for mitigating risks by transferring offshore approaches to onshore operations. It explores how an industrialised non-EU country is preparing for wind ramp-up and how development of new technology can still use an existing supply chain.

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Learning objectives

Delegates will be able to:

• Explain how certification helps to ensure market compliance and technical risk mitigation;
• Describe how new product developments use established production processes;
• Elaborate on how the supply chain can contribute to lower levelised cost of energy;
• Explain that manufacturing surveillance can reduce risk wind farm loss of production;
• Describe the diversified supply chain of a non-EU high technology country.

This session will be chaired by:

Martin Molzen LM Wind Power, Denmark
Co-authors:
Martin Molzen (1) ^F
(1) LM Wind Power, Kolding, Denmark

A new revolutionary carbon/hybrid technology within the same global supply chain

Introduction

The challenge of accommodating several tailored blade designs whilst harvesting most possible synergies in the supply chain as well as in the manufacturing setup, is key for any blade supplier. Likewise, balancing between a centralized production setup and a regional footprint accommodating local content; yet following a global governing structure, is a challenge.

Approach

Huge efforts have been put into developing technologies that significantly enhance larger wind turbine blade´s mechanical properties in terms of stiffness and weight and at the same time utilizing the existing manufacturing setup; including production assets and most of the existing supply chain and manufacturing processes.

Main body of abstract

LM Wind Power has efficiently evolved the glass/polyester technology over several decades while maintaining carbon fiber/epoxy resin design- and manufacturing capabilities available. Most recently, though, we have experienced a break-through in terms of leveraging carbon/glass fiber hybrid technology, still utilizing the benefits of our existing material base of polyester resin. This breakthrough is now enabling us to even better tailor blades to our customer’s exact requirements whilst leveraging decades of manufacturing experience. Longer and stiffer blades with an attractive cost/benefit ratio at a moderate price premium and maybe even more important; available throughout LM’s global footprint in all major wind markets.
It is not only a technological revolution; however, it is also a supply chain breakthrough in terms of freely choosing between different design-philosophies without having to establish a more complex supplier base. Apart from the Carbon itself, LM is able to maintain it’s well established global supplier base and thus sourcing strategy both in established markets, but even more important, in new potential setup’s like e.g. in Turkey or France.
Consolidating several customers who are pursuing different design philosophies in the same plants using same tools and processes will now enable LM to broaden the product offering further without compromising the supply chain, the sourcing strategy and ultimately the LCOE.
More specifically, designing an optimized carbon/hybrid blade with even higher stiffness and a lower static moment is just as feasible as offering a slightly cheaper glass/polyester blade. Whether it’s for offshore blades or onshore blades, LM will be able to apply both technologies in the same manufacturing setup; shifting between different blade types for different clients and thus offer the best of both worlds; tailoring with unique features yet harvesting all the possible supply chain synergies.


Conclusion

Through a focused effort of pursuing the objective of qualifying a carbon/hybrid fiber fabric to a non-epoxy resin and at the same time setting strict requirements for maintaining existing processes and production assets; LM is now able to leverage its massive supply chain and global manufacturing footprint whilst tailoring even more different blades matching customers design philosophies and technical requirements.


Learning objectives
The presentation will provide insight into LM’s unique way of combining incremental development steps with more leap-frog developments, hence making sure that new blade design building blocks like the carbon/hybrid technology will not make the global production process and setup obsolete overnight. At the same time the presentation will demonstrate how a broader customer portfolio can benefit from such developments whilst having the freedom to put even more challenging product requirements on the table.