The use of renewable energy to generate electricity is an important key to Covestro's sustainability concept, and emphasizes the commitment of the concept to achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals, especially in the seventh target-renewable energy. And this goal is being applied to wind power generation, mainly because of the availability of wind power worldwide and technological progress, making wind power generation the most promising renewable energy source.
This is also reflected in the research and development of wind power capacity. It is estimated that there will be double-digit growth worldwide every year. Among them, according to the data from the World Wind Energy Association, China is the world's largest wind power market and has had a capacity of 221GW (million watts) of power generation equipment by the end of 2018.
However, in order to further expand the use of wind power and compete with traditional energy sources, cost-effective manufacturing of wind power equipment has greater demand than in the past. Once the equipment is up and running, the goal is to minimize equipment maintenance when the turbine is used for a long time.
To meet this challenge, Covestro and its partners have jointly developed a polyurethane (PU) resin and a manufacturing technology that can combine glass fiber mats and efficient production processes, thereby reducing production cycles. Dirk Soontjens, Covestro responsible for coordinating global wind power related activities, said: "For manufacturers, this development has a clear cost advantage, even more than the epoxy resin used so far. Because of this, Polyurethane resins are easier to flow and ensure better wetting of glass fiber mats used for reinforcement. "And this resin not only has excellent mechanical properties, but also meets many regulations and industrial energy efficiency standards.
Not long ago, Covestro has delivered orders for eighteen fan blades (with a single length of 59.5 meters) produced with polyurethane resin, as well as beam caps (Spar Caps) and shear webs (Shear Webs). It is manufactured by Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (TMT), China's largest manufacturer of wind turbine blades. The blades are supplied to Envision, a leading global wind turbine technology company, and are planned to be installed at wind farms in East China in July 2019.
In Europe, Covestro also works with leaders in the wind power industry and expects to commercialize the technology in a short period of time. In addition, Covestro operates a new wind power laboratory in Liverpool, and has expanded its global laboratory to Asia and Europe to support customers and related innovation activities.
Covestro has also developed more cost-effective coating solutions. For example, protective coatings based on Pasquick technology can be used as colloidal coatings for steel towers and wind turbine blades, which can significantly increase productivity, ensure product durability, and significantly reduce maintenance. Because Pasquick uses one less layer of coating than traditional rust protection methods, the curing time of the coating becomes shorter.
In addition, Bayhydur and Bayhydrol-based water-based surface coatings have long-lasting performance and low solvent (Low VOC) volatility. Finally, Covestro also uses the Desmodur product line as a foundation to provide excellent protection for wind turbine blades and to provide products with durable wear protection.