Evaluation of the EUDP support program shows how important it is to support green projects financially. DTU Wind Energy, for example, has been supported by EUDP for the BLATIGUE project.
In the Large Scale Facility, a wind turbine blade from Olsen Wings is currently tested. It is exposed to fluctuations in several directions - as part of the BLATIGUE project.
BLATIGUE is one of many projects supported by EUDP. With the support money, it is possible to develop new improved methods to test wind turbine blades.
Kim Branner, senior researcher at DTU Wind Energy has previously stated the following:
“There is a challenge with the fatigue tests performed today. They do not represent the real world very well, as they only expose wind turbine blades in one direction at a time. In fact, wind turbine blades are subjected to loads in several directions at the same time. Currently, tests do not take this into account,” he explains.
Not Possible without Support
However, it is not only DTU Wind Energy that benefits from funding from EUDP. A new evaluation report by EUDP shows just how important it is for green projects to be supported financially. The companies supported by the EUDP have, according to the evaluation report, 3,200 more full-time employees and an additional 2,200 are expected in the future - equivalent to one and a half man-years per million Danish kroner in subsidy.
At the same time, the report shows that 65 per cent of the project participants have created new networks in connection with the project, while 59 per cent have experienced a stronger international position in terms of research, technology development or commercialisation.
Kim Branner, who is responsible for DTU Wind Energy's project BLATIGUE, says:
“That we get financial support means that we have the opportunity to take our research to a whole new level. At the same time, it makes DTU Wind Energy a more interesting place for education, and for companies as partners.”