Business area Wind
This is where the institute pools its expertise in the field of wind energy. The focus is primarily on the rotor blades of modern wind turbines, but also on niche products such as aircraft wind turbines. The expertise is based on decades of experience with fibre composite structures from the aerospace industry. A balanced mix of projects in the wind energy sector and other industrial sectors leads to customised innovations and solutions for wind energy.
The research topics in this business area range from service life-optimised or functionalised materials, optimised design and new construction methods to quality-controlled production. The focus is also on systems for load minimisation or structural monitoring. In all research topics, aspects of recycling are taken into account in all product life cycle phases in order to further increase the sustainability of wind energy. Life cycle analyses are used to carry out both economic and ecological assessments of the technologies.
Embedded in the DLR, the business unit has a unique infrastructure at its disposal. Both the operation of the institute's own large-scale facilities, e.g. for rotor blade production at the Centre for Lightweight Production Technology (ZLP) in Stade, and access to the wind energy research platform for testing structures, systems or technologies on real wind turbines enable research for the emission-free energy generation of tomorrow that is particularly close to industry and applications.