Five Megatrends in

Wind Energy Technology

1 Scale up manufacturing

Scale up and automate manufacturing

to accelerate deployment

Nacelle factory

Blade factory Grid station

2 Optimise turbine performance Substation

HVDC cable
Bigger and more performant turbines to power the future
More efficient and
3
Bigger interconnected systems
Longer blades turbines
Connect wind to the grid in the most efficient way

More powerful Sensor

generators

Digital tools
for control
and monitoring
Decommissioned blade

Drones for inspection

4 Digitalisation

The digital age for wind energy

5 Sustainability has arrived
Recycling facility
Powering a greener tomorrow Underwater vehicles
with wind energy

Recycled materials
 1 Scale up manufacturing

The wind industry holds a unique position in Europe’s • Innovative turbine designs suited to large-volume manufactur-
industrial landscape. It is a high-tech, sustainable, and ing with (semi-)automated production processes.
heavy manufacturing industry. To deliver Europe’s • New and upgraded facilities to deploy the increasingly higher,
energy ambitions wind manufacturing capacity needs wider, and heavier turbines.
to scale up and automate to produce and install on • New installation and transport methods to transport and install
average 30 GW of new installations a year by 2030. the bigger turbines faster and easier.

2 Optimise turbine performance

The demand to optimise turbine performance keeps • Higher towers to reach stronger and more stable winds.
increasing. To maximise energy production we’ll need • Longer blades to capture more kinetic energy from the wind.
innovative solutions to increase the turbine size, make • More powerful generators to turn the energy captured into
them more powerful, and increase their availability. electricity.

3 More efficient and interconnected systems

Wind energy could account for half of the EU’s electrici- • Advanced grid management technologies enable better coordi-
ty demand by 2050. Europe will need more, and more nation between wind farms and other energy sources.
performant grids to integrate these large amounts of • Innovation in real-time data exchange and adaptive control
wind. In addition, energy storage solutions and mechanisms will help maximise the share of clean electricity in
power-to-x will help balance the system and ensure no the grid.
wind energy is lost or curtailed. • High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC technology) allows the
collection and transmission of very large volumes of electricity
across great distances.

4 Digitalisation

Digitalisation is reshaping the wind energy industry • Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital tools will help to facilitate
by integrating advanced technologies that enhance monitoring the condition of the assets and send signals when
operational efficiency and facilitate decision-making. repairs are needed.
The rapid development of digital technologies pushes • Advanced data analytics and AI-driven tools help further refine
the industry to keep innovating, including to safeguard wind forecasting and measurements to optimise electricity
the cybersecurity of its infrastructures. production and consumption.
• Long-term innovation in autonomous tools, robots, and
vehicles could enable wind farms to operate and maintain
themselves almost independently.

5 Sustainability

Wind energy is a sustainable technology which cuts • Innovations to recycle key components such as blades and
down CO2 emissions and is already 90% recyclable. The permanent magnets.
industry is committed to become 100% sustainable and • Developing new materials and component that are sustainable
achieve the highest levels of circularity. Sustainability is by design.
in our DNA. • New sustainable practices to ensure that wind farms remain
nature inclusive and are developed in harmony with ecosystems
and local communities.

etipwind.eu
What is ETIPWind?
The European Technology & Innovation Platform on Wind Energy (ETIPWind) was established in 2016 to inform
ETIPWind
Research & Innovation policy at European and national level. ETIPWind provides a public platform to wind
energy stakeholders to identify common Research & Innovation priorities and to foster breakthrough
@ETIPWind
innovations in the sector. ETIPWind is supported by the Horizon Europe project SETIPWind.

Author: ETIPWind Steering Committee

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the Content coordinator: Christina Prifti,
author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Capucine Vannoorenberghe (WindEurope)
Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Design: Formas do Possivel