fraunhofer institute for wind energy systems iwes strategy … · 2021. 5. 28. · 4 5 1....

Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES

STRATEGY REPORT 2020–2025

2 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction and Status Report ................................................................................5

1.1 Status of Wind Energy ...................................................................................................6

1.2 Technological Development ...........................................................................................8

1.3 Research Development ................................................................................................11

2. Situational Assessment ............................................................................................12

2.1 Technical Status ...........................................................................................................13

2.2 SWOT Analysis.............................................................................................................14

3. Strategic Goals–ActionFieldsandMeasures ........................................................16

3.1 Reference to 2015 Strategy ..........................................................................................17

3.2 FraunhoferIWES2025–StrategicPerspectiveofthe Institute’sManagement ..............18

3.3 FurtherDevelopmentofMethodsExpertise .................................................................20

3.4 Focus on Wind Farm Operators ............................................................................ 21

3.5 DiversificationofPublicFunding ..................................................................................22

3.6 Strengthening of the Culture of Cooperation ...............................................................23

3.7 ImprovedPositioningontheLaborMarket ..................................................................23

3.8 Optimizing Internal Processes ......................................................................................25

3.9 Continuous Site Development ......................................................................................26

3.10 InternationalPositioningviaScientificCommunication .................................................27

4. Core Competences and Technological Development ............................................28

4.1 Testing and Validation .................................................................................................29

4.2 Digitalization ...............................................................................................................30

4.3 MeasurementMethods................................................................................................34

4.4 Life cycle ......................................................................................................................36

4.5 Hydrogen Activities ..................................................................................................... 40

4.6 ScientificDevelopment ................................................................................................42

5. FinanceandInvestmentPlanning .......................................................................... 46

6. SummaryandPrioritizationofStrategicGoals .....................................................52

7. ConclusionandForecast ......................................................................................... 54

IMPRINT

Publisher

Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES

Am Seedeich 45, 27572 Bremerhaven, Germany

Phone: +49 471 14290-100

www.iwes.fraunhofer.de

The Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES is a

constituent entity of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and as such

has no separate legal status.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.

Hansastraße27c,80686München,Germany

Phone:+49891205-0,Fax:+49891205-7531

www.fraunhofer.de

Editorial team

InnaEck(coordination),LisaBösch,JuliaKiefer

Authors

ChristianBroer,MarielBusch,Dr.SteffenCzichon,

Nora Denecke,TorbenJersch,JennyKuball,HansKyling,

Dr. BernhardLange,Dr.BenedictPreu,Prof.AndreasReuter,

DirkSandhop,Dr.AlexanderSchenk,

Dr.BernhardStoevesandt,Prof.JanWenske,

Dr. Arnoldus van Wingerde

Photocreditsandcopyrights

PAGE 1: Caspar Sessler; PAGE 4: Helmut Gross;

PAGE 8:Jens Meier;PAGE 9:Jan Meier;PAGE 10: left: Areva

MultibridJan Oelker,right:Jens Meier;PAGE 11:Jens Meier;

PAGE 12: TenneT Offshore; PAGE 13:FrankBauer;

PAGE 15:DOTI_MatthiasIbeler2009;PAGE 16:JensMeier;

PAGE 19:left:MartinaBuchholz,right:UlrichPerrey;

PAGE 20:left:FrankBauer,right:BluePlanetStudioiStock;

PAGE 22:ArevaMultibridJanOelker;PAGE 24:JensMeier;

PAGE 25:left:Jan Brandes,right:FraunhoferIWES;

PAGE 28:JanMeier;PAGE 36:JensMeier;PAGE 37: left:

HarryZier,right:FrankBauer;PAGE 38:Matthias Ibeler;

PAGE 42:left:MartinaBuchholz,right:FraunhoferIWES;

PAGE 43:MartinaBuchholz;PAGE 44: left: Stiftung

OFFSHORE-WINDENERGIE_Eon-Netz_Detlef Gehring_2008,

right:StiftungOFFSHORE-WINDENERGIE_JanOelker;

PAGE 45: Stiftung OFFSHORE-WINDENERGIE_AREVA Wind_

Detlef Gehring 2008; PAGE 46:JanMeier;

PAGE 48:JensMeier;PAGE 49:TobiasKleinschmidt;

PAGE 51:left:KatharinaFischer,right:JanMeier;

PAGE 53:DOTIMatthias Ibeler;PAGE 54: left: Stiftung

OFFSHORE-WINDENERGIERepowerJanOelker,

right: Helmut Gross

State:July2020

Design/Infographics

Design-Agentur Braun mit Braun

Printing

QUBUSmediaGmbH

Supportedby:

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1. INTRODUCTION AND STATUS REPORT

The last systematic strategy process at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES

was completed in 2016 and included a development perspective for the Institute up to 2020.

Onthebasisofthis,afollow-upprocesswasinitiatedinthefallof2019withtheaimofevaluat-

ingtheresultsuptothatpointandalsodefiningnewgoalsandrecommendationsforactionfor

theFraunhoferIWESthroughto2025.Incontrasttothefirststrategyprocess,abottom-up

approachwasintegratedthistime,i.e.,alltheInstitute’sheadsofdepartmentparticipatedinan

intensiveandcontinuousexchangeprocesswiththeInstitute’smanagementandworked

together to develop the results presented here. All those involved at the Institute were guided in

particularbythecommongoalofpromotinginnovativestrengthandimpactdespitethe

COVID-19 pandemic.

� Significantchangesinthedynamicwindenergysectordemand,firstandforemost,

an analysisofthemarketandresearchlandscape,whichcanbefoundinthischapter.

� TheInstitute’sperformancecapacityisevaluatedinthesubsequentchapter.

� Basedonthepreviousstrategyreport,themostimportantstrategicgoalsforthenext

five yearswillthenbeestablished,followedbythethematicprioritiesforthistimeperiod.

� ThefifthchaptercomprisesanevaluationoftheInstitute’sfinancialsituationandgrowth

plans through to 2025.

� Thesixthchaptersummarizesthemostimportantstrategicactionfieldsasso-called

“stepping stones” and illustrates the goals for the coming years in a condensed format.

TheInstitutewouldliketotakethisopportunitytothankallthoseinvolvedbothinternallyand

externallyfortheconstructiveandpositivecooperationaimedatrenderingtheFraunhofer

IWESbothfuture-orientedandsustainable.

Prof.AndreasReuter

ManagingDirector

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1.1 STATUS OF WIND ENERGY

Thewindenergysectorhasfacedincreasingmarketinterna-

tionalizationrightfromthebeginningofthelastdecade.This

trend has gained pace most recently and will certainly

continuetoshapethemarketinthecomingyears.The

periodsofdouble-digitgrowthontheglobalmarketoften

yearsagohavebeenreplacedbystagnationatamoderately

high level, with deviations in terms of the relevance of

individualregionalmarkets.Accordingtotheprognosesfrom

theGlobalWindEnergyCouncil(GWEC),nomajorchanges

inthissectorareexpectedoverthenextfewyears.

The causes of this stagnation are manifold and, for the most

part,countryspecific.Itcanoftenbeputdowntoacombina-

tionofmarketsaturationduetoalackofsitesoracceptance

and technical challenges such as delays with regard to the

requisitegridexpansion.

TheoffshorebusinessinEuropeinparticularhasdevelopedinto

anindependentmarketwithdemandingyetrelativelystable

boundaryconditions.Theprognoseshereareconsiderably

moreoptimistic;significantgrowthisanticipatedupto2030.

Developmentandprognosisoftheglobalwindenergymarket2018–2023

Source: GWEC 2019 Source: GWEC 2019* InstallationinChinafor2018adjustedto1.6GWnewinstallations,source:CWEA**CAGR=CAGR=AnnualGrowthRate(Source:GWECMarketIntelligence)

Offshore Pacific AmericasexUSA USAAfrica/ME Europe AsiaexChina China

Other China EuropeNorth America AsiaexChina

Thechallengingboundaryconditionshavelefttheirmarkin

the form of accelerated consolidation along the entire

value -added chain in this industry. The Fraunhofer IWES was

especiallyaffectedbythebuyoutormergerofAdwen/Gamesa

withSiemensandthebankruptcyofSenvion.Alongsidethe

directfinanciallosses,thewaningnumberofpossible

cooperation partners and, in turn, the greater reliance on the

remainingplayersposeaproblemfortheInstitute.

Instagnatingmarkets,therelevanceofdifferentiationbased

ontechnologyinordertoacquireadditionalmarketsharesis

growing. This trend is also clearly evident in the wind sector.

Therotorsizesandnominalratingsofturbines,particularly

offshore, are increasing rapidly at present. The principle aim

of all developments is to reduce power generation costs.

In theinterim,ithasprovedpossibletoundercutallconven-

tional energy sources and wind energy is now engaged in a

neck-and-neckracewithsolarpower.Thisdevelopmentisset

toacceleratefurtherinmostmarketsgiventhesuccessive

switchover from the grant scheme to tendering models.

However,theselowercostsareunabletocompensatefor

the limitingfactorsoflackofacceptanceandgridproblems

asoutlinedabove.

Developmentandprognosisoftheglobaloffshorewindenergymarket2018–2030

Unitsingigawatts(GW)

2018

4.3

2019e

8.1

2020e

6.9

2021e

8.8

2022e

10.4

CAGR +8.2 %

CAGR +12.0%

2023e

11.1

2024e

10.8

2025e

15.0

2026e

16.2

2028e

20.8

2027e

16.6

2029e

21.2

2030e

21.3

1.6*

2.7

3.5

4.3

4.0

1.1

1.8

4.0

1.8

3.0

4.0

0.8

5.6

0.8

4.5

1.3

4.5

4.5

1.8

4.0

0.8

5.0

3.6

5.6

1.0

5.0

4.2

6.0

1.01.0

5.0

4.4

5.2

2.0

2.0

5.5

4.9

6.4

1.0

2.0

6.0

5.2

7.0

2.0

6.0

5.2

8.10.3

0.5

2018

50.12 GW

2019e

71.97 GW

2020e

76.43 GW

2021e

61.32 GW

2022e

62.02 GW

2023e

61.83 GW

9 %

18 %

9 %

6 %

15 %

40 %

2 %1 %

11 %

18 %

7 %

5 %

21 %

35 %

1 %2 %

14 %

6 %

9 %

21 %

37 %

9 %

3 %3 %

13 %

33 %

15 %

18 %

6 %

11 %

3 %3 %

17 %

18 %

7 %

12%

10 %

32 %

3 %3 %

18 %

19 %

7 %

8 %

10 %

32 %

3 %2 %

8 9

Theissueofclimatechangewasattheforein2019(“Greta

effect”/Fridaysforfuture).ThisdiscussioninGermanyhas

politicized the issue of wind energy and the previous, almost

cross-partyconsensusasregardsthefutureexpansionofthis

sectorisnowbeingintensivelyquestionedbyconservative

groups.Paradoxically,thisessentialexaminationofclimate

change has led indirectly to an almost complete collapse of

thelocalmarketandhasevenimpactedonenergyresearch.

However, at the same time, “green hydrogen” as a means of

achievingthenecessarydecarbonizationofindustryand

transporthasenjoyedconsiderablefunding.Evenifthe

businessapplicationsarestillnotclear,thispresentsanew

developmental opportunity for the wind sector as a whole

and for the Fraunhofer IWES in particular.

1.2 TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

Overthepastfewyearsthewindenergysectorhasbeen

characterizedbyastrongfocusondevelopmentsinturbine

efficiencyand,inturn,thereducedlevelizedcostofenergy

(LCOE).Thosemanufacturers(OEMs)remainingonthe

markethavefacedextremecostandcompetitivepressures

and have increasingly developed their own research and

developmentskills.Theonshoresectorinparticularhasseen

fewerfundamental,yetmorerapiddevelopmentcyclesbased

primarilyontheideaofturbineplatformswithaportfolioof

differentrotordiametersandnominalratingsinordertobe

abletoadapttothesite.Tothisend,themanufacturershave

remainedtruetotheirexistingtechnicalturbineconcepts.

For example,therotorbearingandtransmissionconceptsof

theproductlinesinthe2–3megawatt(MW)rangehave

beenadoptedandtheirperformancecapacityvirtually

doubledusingsystematictechnologicaldetailoptimizations.

Intheoffshoresector,therehasbeenajumpfromthenow

established6–7MWclasswithrotordiametersofbetween

150mand170mtothefirstturbineswhichareapproaching

thedouble-digitperformancerangeof9–10MW.Here,too,

therehasnotbeenafundamentalchangeinthetechnologi-

calconcepts,butratherthefocushasbeenonintelligent

detail developments and improvements. Optimized offshore

logisticsandassemblyprocesses(palletsystems,decentral-

ized production with optimized delivery chains, feeder

systems,semi-automaticindividualsetupsteps,etc.)have

playedapivotalroleinthesignificantdropinpowergenera-

tion costs in recent years. In terms of the technologies used,

uptonowtheoffshoreturbineclasshasbeendominatedby

direct drive and monopile foundation structures. Neverthe-

less,therearealsoalternativeconceptswithalowerbutstill

stablemarketshareavailable.

In 2019/2020, all renowned manufacturers of onshore

turbineshave5xMWplatformswithrotordiametersof

between140mand160mintheirportfoliosorthesearein

theadvancedfieldtrialstage.Interestingly,thisincreasein

performancehasbeenachievedwithvirtuallyunchanged

towerheadmasses,i.e.,ithasbeenpossibletoreducethe

specificpower/weightratioeffectively.Comparedwithearlier

developmentphasesforonshoreturbines,thisisatruly

remarkablechange.Ontheonehand,itunderscoresthe

greaterefficiencypotentialofthesenewturbinegenerations

and, on the other hand, the fundamentally enhanced

developmentexpertiseofOEMsintermsofcalculationand

simulation,materialutilizationandoperationalstability,

automation and control technology, which rendered the

requisiteimprovementspossibleinthefirstplace.

Thedominantonshorewindturbineconceptin2020isthat

ofa“classic”transmissionsystem(3-phase)withintelligent

3-pointbearingandadoubly-fedasynchronousmachine.In

the onshore sector, direct drive technologies are assuming a

morenicherole.Themaximumtowerheightsforinlandsites

wouldappeartobestagnatingat160mduetotheregula-

toryrequirementsandlimitations.Intheoffshoresector,

10–12 MWturbineswithrotordiametersofbetween193m

and212marepoisedtobelaunchedbyvariousmanufac-

turersandareplannedforwindfarmprojectsinthecoming

two years. The direct drive technology continues to shape

the markethere.

According to a current trend, the remaining manufacturers

arecontinuingtoevolvefromprovidersofwindturbinesand

servicesintoexpertsystemproviders.Provenexpertiseinthe

fieldofsystemintegration(gridintegration)isincreasingly

beingseenasadecidingfactoronthecost-drivenwind

energymarket.Incontrast,asystematicdevelopmentof

knowledgeisalsobeingobservedinanoperatorlandscape

which has undergone many changes in the last years. Newly

alignedenergysupplycompaniesaredominatingthemajor

windenergyprojects.Furthermore,inadditiontoclassic

financialandtechnicaloperationalmanagement,theyaim

to expandtheirin-houseexpertiseinthefieldofturbine

technology greatly, especially in the areas of site assessment,

controltechnology,andelectricalwindturbinesystems.

Seemingly in the classic energy sector, too, alongside the

economically motivated goal, there is interest in retaining a

large percentage of the added value internally over the entire

servicelifeoftheturbine.Assuch,itcanbesaidthatthe

system relevance of wind energy in future electrical power

supplieshasfinallybeenfullyappreciated.IntheFraunhofer

IWES’view,thisrapidlydevelopingequilibriuminexpertiseon

themarketishavingathoroughlypositiveimpactonboth

system integration and supply security as well as serving to

strengthencross-sectorapproaches.Thisisdemonstratedby

thelargenumberofcorrespondingprojects(reallabs,

hydrogenstrategies,e-mobilityande-fuels)intheresearch

andcommercialsectoraswellasintensifiedstandardization

activitiesintermsofgridintegrationandcertificationofthe

electricalpropertiesofinverter-coupledequipment.

Lookingaheadtofuturedevelopments(upto2025),the

FraunhoferIWESanticipatesdeceleratedgrowthinturbine

performance and rotor sizes for the onshore and offshore

segments.Thereliabilityandavailabilityoftheveryhigh

levelsachievedheretodatemustbeconfirmedinseries

production over the coming years. Even without any funda-

mental technological changes or other disruptive innovations

(e.g.,superconduction,rotorhybridmaterials,SiCforpower

electronics),thereispotentialforupto15MWandrotor

diameterswellinexcessof200m.Theofficialannouncement

fromSiemensGamesaRenewableEnergy(SGRE)oftheir

intentiontolaunchaSG14-222DD(14MWnominalpower,

222mrotordiameter)ontothemarketin2024cancertainly

beregardedasconfirmationofthisinternalassessment.

FromtheFraunhoferIWES’perspective,thegreatestpotential

forfurtherincreasesinefficiencyandreliabilityliesinthe

medium term in the systematic use of digitalization technolo-

gies.Thefieldsofprognosis,in-situfarmoptimization,

field-basedserviceoptimization,onlineperformance

evaluation,andadaptive,self-optimizingturbineandfarm

controls appear particularly promising.


10 11

Intheoffshoresectorinparticular,floatingsystemsfor

greaterwaterdepthscouldmarkabreakthroughasthereis

an ever greater need for future regenerative energy produc-

tion in many coastal regions. East Asia, where many states

boastshipbuildingexpertise,couldestablishitselfasaworld

leader from a technology and realization perspective. In the

exportnationofGermany,itisfeltthattheopportunities

here are limited, since there is hardly any national research

fundingandbarelyanyresearchprojectsordemonstratorsin

this area.

For the development of offshore wind energy in Germany,

theRenewableEnergyActof2017(EEG2017)andthe

OffshoreWindEnergyAct(WindSeeG)markedasystem

change from the feed-in tariffs to a tendering procedure.

The FederalMaritimeandHydrographicAgencyofGermany

(BSH)isresponsibleforoffshorewinddevelopmentand,

specifically,forthespatialplanningofsuitableareasandtheir

pre-examination.Theresultsofpre-examinationsaremade

availabletothetenderingparticipants,whousethemasthe

basisfortheirbids.Comprisingthedeterminationofwind

conditionsandexaminationoftheground,thepre-examina-

tion covers two areas in which the Fraunhofer IWES is a

pioneer as regards the development of innovative measure-

ment methods.

Given the size and concentration of wind farms, shadowing

effects are more relevant offshore than onshore. With large

offshore farms and wind farm clusters, the interaction of the

farmswiththeentireatmosphericboundarylayermustbe

takenintoaccount,asthisleadstoso-calledclusterwake

effectsandblockadeeffects.Accordingtothemarketleader,

Ørsted,thishasnotbeentakenintoconsiderationsufficiently

bythewindindustrytodateandtheenergyyieldshavethus

beenoverestimated.

Theplannedmajorexpansionofoffshorewindenergyinthe

NorthandBalticSeasdemandstheinternationalnetworking

ofpowerconnectionsandoffshoregridstomakeoptimaluse

of the energy produced. Research is currently focused on

issues relating to high-voltage direct current transmission

grids and energy islands, etc.

As state funding is reduced or even cut completely, the

integrationofthewindindustryintothepowermarketswill

takeonanevermoreimportantrole.Inthefuture,theprofits

achievedbywindfarmoperatorswilldependlargelyoreven

exclusivelyonthepowermarket.Alongsidethesaleofthe

powerproducedonthespotmarket,long-termsupply

contracts and the provision of system services are set to

becomeincreasinglyimportant.Thisalsohasanimpacton

theoperationalmanagementofwindfarms,forexamplein

termsoftheoperatingandmaintenance(O&M)concept.

1.3 RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

Research Institutions

Furtherresearchinstitutionshavebeenfoundedthroughout

Europe(ORECatapult,SINTEF),which,togetherwiththe

establishedplayers(DTUWind,TNO/ECN,CENER),represent

theFraunhoferIWES’maincompetitorsintermsofindustrial

projectsandEuropeanfunding.TheInstituteengagesin

regularexchangeswiththeseplayersinordertocoordinate

research activities. However, the interests of the individual

institutionsarefrequentlyshapedbyspecificnationalbound-

ary conditions, which complicates systematic cooperation.

TheEuropeanEnergyResearchAlliance(EERAJPWIND)

represents an important platform for European research

whichcanexertconsiderableinfluenceonthecontentual

frameworkofprojectswithinHorizonEurope.Thecore

themes at German and European level are congruent to

a greatextent.Oneexceptiontothisarefloatingwind

turbines,whichareonlyconsideredtobeimportantoutside

of Germany.

Researcheffortsarealsobeingexpandeduponoutsideof

EuropeintheUSAandChina.Thesecountriesmainlyserve

localmarkets,butdosoatahightechnologicallevel.

InGermany,theRWTHAachenUniversitywiththeCenter

for WindPowerDrives(CWD)remainsoneoftheFraunhofer

IWES’maincompetitors,butitslimitedtestingbenchsizes

areunabletoaccommodatethedynamicgrowthinthesize

ofwindturbinesandthetestingoptionsarecurrentlymore

restricted than at the Fraunhofer IWES.

Industrial Research

AstheOEMscontinuetoconsolidate,theresearchand

development capacity of the remaining large companies is

growingconsiderably(e.g.,developmentcostsofonebillion

eurosforanewoffshorewindturbinetypeatGEWind

Energy).Significanteffortstodevelopsystematicexpertise

internally are also evident among wind farm developers

and operators.

Sincethemajorplayersinthewindindustryarenow

operatingglobally,itcanbeassumedthattheywillonlybe

interested in engaging in research cooperations with inter-

nationally leading research institutions in the medium term.

Other University Research

Interest in dedicated wind energy research is generally in

declineatGermanuniversitiesas,forexample,thefocus

topic“Excellence”attacheslessimportancetoapplication-

oriented topics. The increasing maturity of the technologies

is shifting the research topics to more fundamental issues in

materials science, electrical engineering, and IT. There, they

representonlyoneofmanypossiblefieldsofapplication–

andarethereforelessvisible.

Therehasalsobeenadropinthenumberofstudents

pursuing degrees focusing on wind energy in Germany

(UniversityofHanover,UniversityofOldenburg,etc.),

whereas the corresponding range of degrees offered in

otherEuropeancountries(Denmark,UnitedKingdom)as

wellasintheUSAandAsiahasgrown.


13

2. SITUATIONAL ASSESSMENT

12


This section briefly outlines the positioning of the Fraunhofer IWES, taking both internal and external assessments into account. This is then taken as the basis for describing the Institute’s action fields and goals for the next five years in the subsequent chapters.

2.1 TECHNICAL STATUS

The Fraunhofer IWES unites wind energy system technologies

onallscales–fromnanometers(materialdevelopment)to

kilometers(siteinvestigationsandwindfieldsimulations) –

under a single roof.

Thankstocomprehensiveinvestmentinthetestinginfra-

structure and targeted academic further development, the

Institutehasbeenabletosecureitselfaleadingpositionin

a seriesofresearchfieldssinceitsfoundation.

Lifespan|Fatigue|AcceleratedTesting

TheFraunhoferIWESworksintensivelyinthefieldsoflarge

bearingtesting,large-scalecomponentsofthedrivetrain,

and supporting structures in order to optimize testing

strategiesandinfrastructures.Thecombinationofvarious

specializations(tribology,controltechnology,automation

technology,mechanicalengineering,civilengineering),has

allowedthedesignandrealizationofhighlycomplexand

uniquetestsystemswhichareabletosimulateacomplete

servicelifeofmorethan20yearsinjustafewmonthswith

realistic damage effects.

SystemTesting|SystemExpertise

Today,withtheDynamicNacelleTestingLaboratory(DyNaLab),

theFraunhoferIWESisagloballeaderwithanimpressivetrack

record when it comes to the mechanical and electrical system

testingofwindturbinenacelles.Abroadspectrumof

differenttestscenarioshasbeenrealizedbothforcustomer

ordersandinarangeofresearchprojects,impressively

demonstratingtheflexibilityandcapacityofthetesting

infrastructure.

Simulation|ValidationofProductionChains

Whenitcomestorotorblades,theFraunhoferIWESisable

to simulate the entire production chain involved in the

manufactureofablade:fromtheproductionstepsona

laboratoryscalethroughtothefinalproduct(BladeFactory).

This also includes the accompanying validation tests – from

material-sciencetestsonfibercompositematerialsthrough

combinedrainerosion/icebuild-upteststobiaxialcomplete

bladetestingwithellipticalstimulation.TheFraunhoferIWES’

expertiseinproductionandtestingtechnologyresultsin

intensivesynergieswhichcanbeutilizedforthemutual

optimization of processes and technologies.

WindFarmDevelopment

As regards wind farm development, the Fraunhofer IWES

focuses on those areas where research and development are

abletomakerelevantprogressfortheindustry.Thepartners

and customers are essentially the planners and operators of

offshore wind farms as well as their service providers and

suppliers.

TheInstitutehasdevelopedawindLiDARbuoytomeasure

thewindconditionsatpotentialoffshoresites:arobust

measurementsystemforflexibledeterminationofoffshore

wind conditions at heights of up to 300 m. To date, the

FraunhoferIWEShasbuiltsevenbuoys,andthesearenowin

usearoundtheworld.Furthermore,thebuoyisproduced

underlicensebythecompanyTitaninChinafortheChinese

market.

14 15


A3Doffshoresiteinvestigationtechniquebasedonmulti-

channelseismology,theonlyoneofitskindintheworld,was

developedincollaborationwiththeUniversityofBremenfor

theinvestigationofsitesforoffshorewindfarms.Itisusedby

variousfarmdevelopersandtheBSHtocreatesoilprofiles

anddetectboulders.

OneoftheFraunhoferIWES’mainfocusesisthesimulation

of offshore wind conditions and, indeed, it has assumed a

leadinginternationalpositioninthisfield.Itistheonly

institutetoboastcomprehensiveexpertiseindetermining

windconditionsinandaroundoffshorewindfarmsbasedon

varioussizescales.Thismakesitpossibletoanalyzeindetail

wakeeffectswithinwindfarmsandonalargerscaleand

describeturbulenceproperties.

2.2 SWOT ANALYSIS

TheSWOTanalysisconsidersthestrengthsandweaknesses

as well as the relevance of trends and prognoses. SWOT

standsfor:Strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities,and

Threats. The following analysis applies to the entire Institute,

takingaccountofallinternalandexternalservices,andthus

does not go into the details of the individual technology

areasormarketsegments.Thestrategicgoals,measures,

and actionfieldsderivedfromthisSWOTanalysisaredealt

withindetailinthesubsequentchapters.

Strengths

� Establishedasasectorexpertrightalongthe

value-added chain

� Coreissuesestablishedonstablepillars,

welldiversifiedoverarangeofselectedtopics

� The Fraunhofer IWES functions as an innovation

enginethankstoitspracticalexperienceand

methodologicalexpertise

� Soundfinancialsituationandinfrastructure

� Attractive employer: long-term staff loyalty,

good cooperation opportunities

� Decentralized structure at attractive sites

� The Fraunhofer IWES: “we” are a team

� Attractingofcross-sectorordersbasedon

interdepartmental, interdisciplinary cooperation

� Newtopicscanbeimplementedeffectively

andquicklyin-house

Opportunities

� Theoffshoremarketboastsconsiderable

technological development potential and offers

astablemarketenvironmentinEurope

� UseofcommitteeworktopositiontheFraunhofer

IWES as a pioneer

� New customer group: potential from serving

operators’needs

� Developmentofscalableproducts

� PositivefundingconditionsonthepartoftheBMWi

� Greaterexploitationofinternalprogramswithinthe

frameworkoftheFraunhofergroup/alliance

Weaknesses

� DependencyonpublicfundingfromtheFederal

MinistryforEconomicAffairsandEnergy(BMWi)

� Lots of young employees with limited industrial

experience

� Inefficientadministrationprocesses(procurement,

IT,customer-relevantinterfacessuchascontracts)

� HighsurchargesmaketheFraunhoferIWES’services

expensive

� Industry orders are essentially focused on test

benchservices

� Inthecaseofthekeytestbenches,itisnotpossible

tocompensateforthelossofmajororders

Risks

� Thedifficultmarketenvironmentisresulting

in consolidationbymanufacturersand,inturn,

a declineinthenumberofnewproduct

evelopments

� Increasing political polarization resulting from

the energytransition

� Majorincreaseininternationalcompetitionin

termsofR&D

� Increase in industrial in-house research

� Globalizationofcustomersandcompetition

� Thereisnodomesticmarketforthefutureissue

offloating

17

3. STRATEGIC GOALS – ACTION FIELDS AND MEASURES

3.1 REFERENCE TO 2015 STRATEGY

Thestrategicprocessuponwhichthisreportisbasedisa

review, realignment, and continuation of the activities

commencedin2015and2016.Backthen,thefundamental

orientationoftheFraunhoferIWESwasdefinedforthefirst

time and the results were evaluated within the scope of a

reviewbyexternalexpertsandfoundtobegood.Thekey

resultsofthelastreportaresummarizedinbriefbelow.

DevelopmentofMethodsExpertise

As a still relatively young institute in a demanding and

dynamicsector,arealisticscenarioforpresentingqualified

customerbenefitshadtobedefined.Overthecourseof

discussions,theissueofmethodsexpertisebasedonthe

competitiveinfrastructurealreadyinexistencetosomeextent

emerged as a means of ensuring success. The continuous

improvementofthestaff’sspecialistskillsbecamethefocus

of the development perspective. Building upon this, innova-

tiveconceptsweretobederivedinasubsequentphase.

Conceptfordevelopingthemethodsexpertisebasedoninfrastructure

3.STRATEGIC GOALS–ACTION FIELDS AND MEASURES

This chapter firstly outlines the strategic starting point for further observations and is followed by a summary of the challenges to be faced over the coming years as seen by the Institute’s management. This chapter is rounded off by a description of the current action fields through to 2025.

Time

Infrastructure

Methods expertise

Innovation

Customer benefits Development of excellenceforensuringasustainable competitive edge in the long term

Development of relevant competitive differentiation in the mediumterm

Development of an initial competitive advantage in the short term

18 19


FocusonValidation

TheFraunhoferIWES’contentualorientationshouldfocuson

theissueofriskminimizationandthesecuringofinnovative

windenergytechnologywhiletakingrealisticgrowth

scenariosintoaccount.Thiswassummarizedbytheterm

“FocusonValidation”,withtechnologiesfromthefieldof

projectdevelopmentandthesupplierindustryalsobeing

explicitlyincluded.

* Rho-Wireferstothepercentageoftheoperatingbudgetmadeupbyindustrialincome.

FocusonIndustryRelevance/Rho-Wi50+

Anothermajorcentralaspectofthelaststrategyprocesswas

the clear commitment to prioritizing industry-relevant

activities,withacademicexcellencebeingnotclassedas

contradictorytobutratherinsupportofthis.Thisgoalwas

broughtwithinreachbyspecifyingarelevantgoalfor

industrialincome:atleasthalfoftheoperatingbudget

shouldcomefromdirectindustrialincome(“Rho-Wi*50+”).

3.2 FRAUNHOFER IWES 2025 – STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE OF THE INSTITUTE’SMANAGEMENT

TheFraunhoferIWEScanlookbackonfiveverysuccessful

years even though not all the strategic goals were achieved.

Themethodsemployedtodatethereforeneedtobetested

so as to realign and tailor processes in order to accommodate

thelatestdevelopments.Thekeyquestionsandcurrent

challengesareoutlinedbelow:

PositioningoftheInstituteinDynamicTimes

Thewindenergyindustryis(onceagain)undergoingavery

clearprocessoftransformation.Itiscurrentlyimpossibleto

sayhowthevariousplayerswillbepositionedinthelong

term,norcanitbestatedwithanycertaintywhatfuture

businessmodelswilllooklikeagainstthebackdropofthe

energytransition.Nevertheless,theFraunhoferIWESmustbe

abletomakestrategicinvestmentdecisionsinorderto

position itself competitively in the wind energy research

sectoroverlongerimplementationperiods(upto2025).To

thisend,decisionsaremadeonthebasisofjointestimates,

thesewillberegularlyreviewedusingverifiablecriteria,and,

if necessary, corrected.

ContinuationofSuccessfulConceptsfor

Cooperation in theWindSector

The accelerated consolidation of the industry is increasingly

impacting upon players from all areas of the value-added

chain,i.e.,inadditiontowindturbinemanufacturersalso

projectdevelopers,operators,andsuppliers.TheFraunhofer

IWES’taskistoembracethisdevelopmentandtointensify

cooperationwiththelikelywinnersofthisconsolidation

process.

RiskMinimizationwithRespecttothe

Institute’s Public Financing

Ithasnotyetbeenpossibletominimizetheriskidentified

backin2015resultingfromdependencyontheFederal

MinistryforEconomicAffairsandEnergy(BMWi)asthe

authoritywhichawardsalmost95%ofallpublicfunds–

largely due the good success rate when applying for funds

fromthissource.Theintensifiedpoliticaldiscussiononissues

relatingtotheenergytransitionandinitialbudgetproblems

intheBMWimeanthatthisproblemisbackontheagenda

once again. For the period up to 2025, further growth must

gohandinhandwithadiversificationoftheoriginofpublic

fundsandthelargestpossibleincreaseinrevenuefrom

industryabovethecurrentlevel.Thismeansatwo-fold

increase in revenue from industry from €10 million at present

to€20millionby2025.

GrowthPhasesoftheInstituteTransitionfroma

Start-UptoanEstablishedandNetworkedInstitute

TheFraunhoferIWEScanalreadylookbackonmorethan

ten yearsofhistory,withthefirstyearsbeingcharacterized

in particularbythedevelopmentoftheinfrastructureand

positioning in the national and international research

landscape.Inthependingphase,therewillbeastronger

focus on issues such as professionalization and the optimiza-

tionofworkflows.FurthernetworkingwithintheFraunhofer-

Gesellschaftandexploitationoftheresultingopportunities

willalsobecomeincreasinglyimportant.

FurtherInternationalizationandCoveringofthe

Value-AddedChainvs.FocusingandExcellence

Ontheonehand,greatereffortsmustbemadeinthehighly

dynamicandcomplexwindenergysectortominimizethe

economicriskfacedbytheFraunhoferIWES.Itcouldprove

expedientheretoexpandtherangeofresearchservices

offered for additional parts of the value-added chain or to

intensify internationalization. On the other hand, in order

to maintaintheexistingcustomerrelationships,effortsmust

becontinuouslyinvestedinensuringtheexcellenceofthe

offerings,somethingwhichisonlypossiblebymeansof

furtherfocusing.Sustainablepathsfordevelopingthe

Institutemustbeidentifiedbetweentheseconflicting

requirements.

Somesolutionstothesechallengesarepresentedbelow.

These are the result of a structured strategy process,

which wasdriveninessencebytheInstitute’sentire

management team.

Photo left: Prof.Dr.-Ing. Jan Wenske,

Deputy Director, Technical Director

Photo right: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Reuter,

Managing Director

20 21


3.3 FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF METHODS EXPERTISE

An increasing trend towards consolidation is evident within

the wind energy industry. This, in turn, means the com-

petitive situation for the Fraunhofer IWES as a provider of

researchanddevelopmentservicesisintensified:ontheone

hand,thenumberofpossiblecustomersforresearchservices

is falling and, on the other hand, given their growing size,

moreandmorecompaniesarecarryingouttheirownR&D

workin-houseandareonlycooperatingwiththeleading

researchfacilitiesintheirfields.TheInstitutewillposition

itselfamongthesefacilitiesbothnationallyandinternation-

allytosecureandbuildonmarketssharesinthelongterm.

The following measures are necessary for this: initially, the

FraunhoferIWESwillidentifyanddefinethefieldsinwhichit

aimstoexpanditsexpertiseandexperienceoverthecoming

years,establishingitselfasaleadinginternationalexpert.This

requiresanongoingfocusontheactivitiesunderthemotto

“FocusonValidation”togetherwithanexpansionofthe

cultureofcooperationattheInstitutesoastomakeoptimal

useoftheresourcesavailable.Theenvisagedfieldsare:

� Testing&validation,

� Digitalization,

� Measurementmethodology,

� Life cycle and

� Sector coupling focusing on hydrogen.

The Fraunhofer IWES is developing these issues through the

developmentofknowledgecarriersininterdisciplinaryproject

teamswiththeaimofpromotingtheexchangeofknowledge

andexploitingsynergies.Thefocusremainsonthecontinuous

further development of staff and the recruitment of additional

personnelwithsuitableprofessionalexperience.Nevertheless,

the use of internal resources to ensure the targeted growth

ofexpertiseandinternationalnetworkingwithexternal

specialists are still important.

TheFraunhoferIWEScommunicatestheseskillsinthe

relevantfieldsthroughtailoredPublicRelationsactivitiessuch

as participation in selected academic conferences with a high

rangeandexcellentsignaleffect,strategicpublicrelations

workwithanewfocusontheimportantchannels(press

releases,website,blogs,etc.),andactiveinvolvementin

relevant industrial and academic international committees.

3.4 FOCUS ON WIND FARM OPERATORS

TheFraunhoferIWESwouldliketoappealmoretothe

operators of wind farms as potential customers. Based on the

existingexpertiseandinfrastructure,theInstituteisdetermin-

ingtheresearchrequirementsofthismarketsegment,

expandingitsserviceportfolio,anddevelopinginnovative

and customized solutions for this group of customers.

Motivation

Againstthebackdropofthewindindustrylandscape,wind

farm operators are growing in importance as partners for the

Fraunhofer IWES. While technical design and realization of

windfarmprojectswereoriginallycarriedoutbyalarge

numberofsubcontractors,windfarmoperatorsarenow

morelikelytocoordinateandmanageallthetechnical

aspects of the upstream sector. This applies in particular to

operators of large offshore wind farms, who, in addition to

a highleveloftechnicalknowledge,alsooffermajorresearch

anddevelopmentprogramsaimedatexploringandoptimiz-

ing new technologies. Cooperation with operators is a logical

stepforbothparties.Adaptationandexpansionofthe

FraunhoferIWESportfolioisthusnotonlyexpedientbut,

in fact,imperative.

ActionFieldsandMeasures

Inordertobeconsideredbywindfarmoperatorsasthe

preferredresearchpartner,theresearchportfolioneedstobe

continuously aligned to the needs of these operators, starting

withtheexistingknowledgebaseandcurrentservices.This

strategycomprisesbothastrategicandthoroughanalysisof

needs,aportfolioanalysisbasedonthis,andacontinuous

process to adapt services.

Acquisitionandpublicrelationsworkshouldconcentrate

more closely on those areas which facilitate direct contact

with wind farm operators. In this way, contracts and research

jobscanbeacquiredsuccessivelyandlong-termpartnerships

established.

SpecificMeasures

� Toenablethetechnicalchallengesfacedbywindfarm

operatorstobeclearlyidentifiedandtoestablishinitial

contact,theFraunhoferIWESistobeintroducedto

identifiedkeywindfarmoperators,e.g.,Equinor,Shell,

Innogy,Vattenfall,andØrsted,byadelegation.Thiscould

alsoprovideimportantfeedbackonthestrengthsand

weaknessesoftheperformanceportfolio.

� Equally,thedialogwithwindfarmoperatorcommittees

needstobeactivelysought,e.g.,withtheBundesverband

derWindparkbetreiberOffshoree.V.forGermanoffshore

operators(BWO),theBundesverbandWindenergiee.V.

(BWE)foronshoreoperators,andtheOffshoreWind

Accelerator for British offshore operators.

� Anappropriatemeansofpresentationmustfirstlybe

identifiedsoastovisualizetheFraunhoferIWES’portfolio

simplyandintuitively(e.g.,thepresentationofservices

basedonthelifecycleofthewindfarm–planning,

operation,anddecommissioning).

� Allheadsofdepartmentareregularlyinformedabout

subjectareasviaaninternalexchangeandarethusableto

function as Institute-wide disseminators vis-à-vis wind

farmoperators.Anacquisitionplanisbeingdeveloped

jointlywhichincludesalldepartmentsandactivities;this

willberegularlyreviewedtoensureitisstilleffectiveand

adapted if necessary.

� FurtheroperatorsaretobeinvitedtojointheFraunhofer

IWES’advisoryboard.Thisstrengthensthetieswith

operatorsandenablesregularfeedbacktobegivenonthe

Institute’sportfolio.

22 23


3.5 DIVERSIFICATION OF PUBLIC FUNDING

TheInstitute’sfinancingremainsgreatlydependenton

fundingfromtheBMWiwithinthescopeoftheenergy

researchprogram.FundingfromtheBMWimadeup56%

of thetotalbudgetin2019.TheInstitutethereforedepends

heavilyonafinancialsourcewhich,itself,isinfluencedby

political decisions. Given that the potential amount of

industrialincomeislimitedforaresearchinstitute,futurerisk

minimizationeffortsshouldconcentrateonthediversification

ofpublicfundingandtakegreateraccountofinternal

Fraunhoferprograms.Thefollowingpointshavebeen

identifiedaskeyobstacleshere:

� Concentration of application-oriented wind energy

researchispoliticallyendorsedbytheBMWi.

� Asthehometotheheadquarters,thestateofBremenhas

access to very limited resources.

� ThesubjectsworkedonattheFraunhoferIWESareonly

adaptabletoaverylimitedextentoutsideoftheBMWi.

� TheFraunhoferIWESbusinessmodelasanindustry

institute has only few points of reference with other

Fraunhofer institutes, which impedes the cooperation

requiredforinternalprograms.


SincetheFraunhoferIWESisunabletoinfluencethepolitical

boundaryconditions,thecontent-relatedchallengesfacedby

theInstitutemustbedealtwithprimarily.

SpecificFirstSteps

� Identificationofmorebasicresearch-orientedfieldswhich

promiseindustrialmarketabilityand,forexample,which

matchthetypicalfundinglinesoftheFederalMinistryof

EducationandResearch(BMBF)(e.g.,materialdevelop-

mentfocusingonoperationalstability).

� The development of issues which facilitate support from

other federal ministries, e.g., the issue of hydrogen, which

issupportedbytheFederalMinistryofTransportand

DigitalInfrastructure(BMVI).

� Development of new topics which offer enhanced

potential for cooperation within Fraunhofer, e.g.,

hydrogen and the circular economy.

� Strengthened and with other Fraunhofer institutes agreed

personnelrecruitmentfornetworkformationandtoalign

thevariousworkingcultures.

� FurtherdevelopmentofactivitiesinHamburginorder

to exploitthefundingopportunitiesthere.

3.6 STRENGTHENING OF THE CULTURE OF COOPERATION

TheFraunhoferIWESisshapedbyatrust-basedcultureof

cooperationwhichpromotescollaborationacrossdepart-

ments and sites. The Institute has a total of nine sites in three

federal states. Specialists from ten interdisciplinary depart-

mentsworktogetherwithcolleaguesfrominternalservice

departmentsonscientificandeconomicsuccess.AnInstitute

culture which promotes strong internal and overarching

cooperation has a central role to play here. The Fraunhofer

IWES regards open and direct communication, tolerance,

a transparenterrorculture,andjointgoalattainmentas

the basisforanInstitute-widecooperationculture.

Variousmechanismsarerequiredineverydayworkinglifein

order to realize this goal:

� Timeandspacemustbeprovidedtoagreeuponand

coordinatecontent.Thisnotonlyincludesregularsub-

ject-specificnetworkingamongmanagers,butalso

exchangeatspecialistlevel.Forthisreason,subject-related

workshopsandtheexpansionofdigitalplatformsareto

beencouragedtoallowstaffatthevarioussitestoengage

inexchange.

� TheInstituteprefersprojectideaswhichinvolveatleast

two departments in the draft phase.

� In order to help staff identify ideas and to channel creative

ideas, managers should clearly prioritize cross-specializa-

tionsubjectsandideaswhichareofstrategicimportance

totheInstitute.Thisautomaticallyenhancesexchangeat

an operational level.

� ValuesandtheInstituteculturemustbeembraced

by management.

� The intradepartmental drafting of codes of conduct and

rulesforcooperationcanhelptomanageconflictsand

failures,improvegeneralcommunicationbetweenstaff

members,andalsofacilitatemoreconsciousinteraction.

� TheFraunhoferIWESregardsmistakesasanopportunity

to grow and improve, which is why it fosters a transparent

errorcultureandthesharingofexperiences.

In light of the internationalization of the wind energy and

labormarket,languagetrainingofcurrentandfuture

employees forms an imperative platform for the use of these

mechanisms.Greaterinvestmentinstaffbilingualismis

planned.

3.7 IMPROVED POSITIONING ON THE LABOR MARKET

Since the start of 2017, the Fraunhofer IWES has invested

efforts into its positioning as an employer within the scope

of itsstrategyprocess.Thisinvolvedimplementationofan

Institute-wide process aimed at developing the employer

identifyandanInstitute-specific“employerbrand”.

This includes,amongotherthings,modernizationofthe

recruitmentprocess,optimizationofthecareerwebsite,

and implementationofaprofessionalonboardingprocess.

The success and growth curve of the Fraunhofer IWES is

flankedbythechallengeofremainingattractivetotheright

personnel.Inaddition,theInstituteisalsobecomingmore

interdisciplinary in its structure and, as such, the spectrum of

specialistskillsrequiredbynewstaffisgrowing.Alongside

theclassicfieldsofmachineengineering,physics,andwind

energy technology, electrical engineering, IT, geotechnics,

or chemicalengineeringarealsogainingground.

Thetransitionfromanemployertoanapplicantmarket,

together with the changing wind energy situation in Germany,

requirestheInstitutetofurtheroptimizeitspersonnel

marketingandrecruitingactivities,butalsotoensurean

externalcommunicationconsistentwithinternalprocesses

andcontent,e.g.positiveattributeswhicharealsolived

throughout the Institute.

24 25


StrategicRecruitmentattheFraunhoferIWES

upto2025

Diversityisgenerallyrecognizedasakeyfactorbehindthe

futureviabilityofanyorganization–assuch,inlinewiththe

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’spolicy,increasingthepercentage

of womenworkingasresearchassociatesattheInstitute

has beenaccordedtoppriority.Inparticular,thenumberof

womeninmanagerialpositionsisalsotobeincreased.

In order to remain successful, staff are needed who generally

share the same or similar values as the Fraunhofer IWES. It has

thereforebeenshownthattheadvantagesoftheInstitute,

namelyscopetoshapehowoneworks,theassumptionof

responsibilityearlyon,andtailoreddevelopmentopportuni-

tiesarehighlyvaluedbyacademicstaffwithprofessional

experience.

Accordingly,thespecificstrategicrecruitmentgoalsatthe

Fraunhofer IWES are as follows:

1. Thenumberoffemalescientistsandacademicsrecruited

istobeincreasedsignificantly.By2025,theproportionof

women at the Institute is to increase from the current

22% to the Fraunhofer-wide target of 30%.

2. Whenfillingnewpositions,priorityshouldbegivento

independent,highlyqualified,andexperiencedcandidates

withindustrialand/oracademicexperience.

3. Graduatesaretoberecruitedprimarilyfromtheinternal

pool of students.

DevelopmentOpportunitiesasaFactorforSuccess–

TheFraunhoferIWESasanAttractiveEmployer

Achievementofthegoalssetoutaboverequiresanemployer

marketingstrategywhichclearlyhighlightstheInstitute’s

decisive attractive features at an early stage. Today, the

importantkeyfactorswhichdefineattractiveemployersare

personal development opportunities and an appreciative

workingatmosphere.Personaldevelopmentopportunities

and a modern Institute culture are already a matter of course

andapracticedrealityattheFraunhoferIWES.That’swhy

thefocusofpersonnelrecruitmentmeasureswillbeonthese

decisiveadvantages.Atransparentpresentationofthebroad

rangeoffurthertrainingopportunities,thepossibilitytotake

onadditionalresponsibility,andscopetoshapeone’scareer

aswellasspecialistandmanagerialcareerpaths,forexample

onthecareerwebsiteanddirectlyinjobpostings,willall

servetoenhancetheInstitute’scompetitiveadvantages.

Further accompanying measures include:

� The use of staff contacts to raise interest for the

Fraunhofer IWES among potential candidates from their

personal spheres.

� Increase in awareness of the Institute and the communi-

cation of its successes: greater presence on various

channels–FraunhoferIWESblog,socialmedia,(specialist)

press, trade fairs, conferences, and lectureships at

universities.

� Establishmentofregularrecruitmentevents.

3.8 OPTIMIZING INTERNAL PROCESSES

Theworldofworkisgrowingincomplexity.Inlightofthe

workingstructuresinplaceattheFraunhoferIWES,suchas

theco-workingspaceinBremen,multiplesites,andvarious

testbenches,thetraditionalnotionofalocation-based

workplaceisbecomingincreasinglyoutdated.Thistransition

meansgreaterorganizationalcomplexityandalsoplaceshigh

demands on administrative mechanisms. To support the

Institute’sadministration,thestrategicgoalistoreducethe

pressureonacademicsthroughefficient,effective,and

targetedprocesses.Thetimespentonadministrativetasksby

scientistsistobereducedtoaminimumandnon-technical

risksaretoberenderedtransparentatanearlystage.


1. WiththeintroductionofSAP,itwillbepossibleto

digitalize all administrative processes completely. The

digitalworkflowwillmeanthatprocurementstaffcan

placeordersregardlessofwheretheyare,releasescanbe

issued,andthestatusoforderscanbequeried.Thiswill

boostbothflexibilityandtransparency.

2. Moremeetingsaretobescheduledbetweenadministra-

tion and the departments at the various sites as a way of

facilitatingcommunication.Intensiveexchangesequateto

animprovedunderstandingofprocesses.Workflowsand

taskscanbediscussedandadapted.Aprocessofcontinu-

ousimprovementofferstheframeworkforpreciselythis.

Thealreadyinitiatedworkshopsfocusingonquality,work,

and environmental protection management within the

scopeofcertificationaretobeexpandedtoincludemore

departments.

3. Administrationistobeintegratedmorecloselyinto

scientificworkandcontrollersaretobemaderesponsible

forensuringcorrectfiguresandbookings.This,inturn,

will lead to an improved mutual understanding and allow

thespecialistdepartmentstobesupportedmoreeffectively,

e.g., with gap analyses.

4. Auniformreportingsystemistobesetuptoenableheads

ofdepartmenttoassesseconomicdevelopmentboth

reliablyandefficiently.Furthermore,fixeddeadlinesfor

reportingaretobedefined.

5. AdditionalInstitute-widedocumentsandtoolswillbe

developedandmadeavailabletosimplifyworkflows,e.g.,

templatesfortheprojectinitiationanddraftingphases

andcontractspecifications.Furthersupportistobe

affordedtothespecialistdepartmentsthroughjoint

evaluation of the lessons learned and with error analyses

forexample.Workshopsonprojectmanagement,taking

theSAPrequirementsintoconsideration,willalsoget

underway in spring 2021.

26 27


3.9 CONTINUOUS SITE DEVELOPMENT

Atpresent,theFraunhoferIWESisspreadoverfivesitesin

threefederalstates(Bremen,Hamburg,LowerSaxony)and

housedinninebuildings.Thisdistributionis,inpart,for his-

toricalreasons;backin2009,theInstitutebeganoperating

withsubsidiariesinBremerhaven,Hanover,andOldenburg.

Theadditionalsitescameaboutduetospecialistrequire-

mentsandanurgentneedforspace.2018markedthestart

ofadiscussiononfurthersitedevelopmenttakingthehome

states into account – a discussion which was very open to the

ideaofconsolidatingthesituationifdeemedpossibleand

expedient.However,itwasconcludedthatallofthecurrent

sitesarerequiredfortheInstitute’sworkandamergerwould

resultinkeyfieldsanddevelopmentopportunitiesbeing

relinquished.Assuch,itwasdecidedtoviewthecomplexity

ofthesitesituationnotjustasachallengebutalsoasan

opportunity. The following two aspects should therefore

be emphasized:

NewWorkandDigitalWorking

TheFraunhoferIWEStakesadvantageofthediverseactivities

whicharenormallysummarizedundertheterm“newwork”

asanapproachtositedevelopment.Modern,digitalworking

methodswillenablestafftoparticipateinInstituteprojects

regardless of their location. This also opens up the door to

flexiblerecruitmentsincevacanciescanbeofferedatallsites

andthepoolofsuitableapplicantsislarger.Furthermore,

digitalizationoftheworkingenvironmentalsooffers

opportunitiesintermsofabetterwork-lifebalancesince,

for example,mobileworkingisfacilitated.Aco-working

spaceestablishedattheUniversityofBremencampushas

proveditselfasanalternativetotheoptionofworkingfrom

home and, at the same time, is a popular venue for internal

andexternalmeetings.

DecentralizedStaggeredDevelopment

Againstthebackdropoftheopportunitiespresentedbynew

work,thepotentialofallsiteswasanalyzedandexpansion

plansweredrawnup,whichwillenabletheInstitutetogrow

overthecomingyears.Thedetailsofthisareoutlinedbelow:

In Bremerhaven,theacquisitionoftheWindhausiscurrently

underdiscussioninthecommitteesandthebuildingcanbe

takenoverbytheInstituteinthenearfuture.Following

investmentstomodernizetheoffices,around20additional

workplacesarenowavailable.Officesattheairfieldhavealso

beensetupforeightemployees;theconstructionofLiDAR

buoysand,infuture,thehydrogenprojectwillbemanaged

fromthere.TheofficesituationattheDyNaLabisalsobeing

optimizedatpresentandafurtherfiveworkplaceshave

been createdbyboostingflexibilityandviaconsolidation.

Here, too,thetestinghallcapacityissubjecttocontinuous

expansiontocreatespaceforthealreadyapprovedinvest-

ments and to develop a longer-term new construction

concepttoestablishfurtherofficeworkspacesonsite.

In2019,theFraunhoferIWESopeneditsfirstco-working

spaceonthecampusoftheUniversityofBremen. This space

ishometoflexibleworkstationsandmeetingroomswith

variousconfigurationsforallstaff.TheSiteEvaluation

departmentworkspermanentlyfromthissite.Nextyear,

thereistheprospectoftakingoverthecurrentpremisesof

theFraunhoferMEVISwithits65workplaces.Thisbuildingis

locatedintheclosevicinityandthiswouldsignificantlyboost

development potential at this site.

In Hanover, the Institute is housed at two sites relatively far

apart:inthecitycenterwithanofficeclosetothecentral

stationandattheMarienwerderresearchcampuswiththe

TestCenterSupportStructures(TTH).Anadditionaloffice

storyistobecreatedhereoverthecourseofthisyear.This

willofferspaceforanother15membersofstaff.

At present, the Hamburgsiteisenjoyingdynamicdevelop-

mentasthetestlaboratoryforlargebearingsbasedtherehas

beenverywellreceivedbytheindustrysector.Moreover,the

newactivitiesinthehydrogenfieldtogetherwiththeNorth

GermanRealLaboratorymeanthatadditionalofficework-

spacesarerequired.Inresponsetothis,thecityofHamburg

isplanninganewresearchbuildingincooperationwiththe

HamburgUniversityofAppliedSciences.Ifeverythinggoes

toplan,thisprojectwillbecompletedin2022andis

expectedtoofferafurther25workspaces.

Intotal,around90newofficeworkplacesareeitherbeing

realized or are in planning and, as such, the envisaged

growthoftheInstituteinthisareawillalsobeachieved.

Perspective

TheBremensiteandtheintensifiedlinkstoitsuniversityare

at the heart of short- and medium-term formative planning

at the Institute. The two planned cooperation professorships

andanotherelectricaltechnologylaboratoryforjointuse

createasubstantialbasisataworkingleveltothisend.

The envisagedtakeoveroftheMEVISbuildingandthe

development of further Institute functions on site will help

to relievethepressureonpremisesinBremerhavenandalso

create a new gravitation center, which, given its central

locationbothintermsoftheuniversitycampusinBremen

and with relation to the other IWES sites, will potentially

stimulate many other positive developments.

3.10 INTERNATIONAL POSITIONING VIA SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION

It is essential that the Fraunhofer IWES clearly positions itself

as an industry Institute in the wind energy sector. Successes

andprogressachievedwithintheframeworkofthestrategic

objectivecanbetransportedauthenticallyandconvincingly

via different channels to the relevant target groups using

marketingandcommunicationinstruments.TheInstitute’s

target groups are many and varied: industry customers from

thewindenergysectorwhoseoperationsarebecomingever

moreglobalandwhocommunicateprofessionallyviaall

mediachannels;thefocusareaofscientificresearchand

development with its highly demanding content; the general

publicfacedwiththeconflictsassociatedwithrenewable

energies and climate protection; media representatives,

sponsors,theFraunhofer-wideinternalstakeholdersandstaff

astheInstitute’sambassadors.

Motivation

Withtheaimofbecomingmorevisibleontheinternational

stageandtobeviewedbytherelevanttargetgroupsasa

successfulglobalresearchinstitute,theFraunhoferIWESsets

greatstorebyhoningitsexternalcommunicationand

developingthisfurtherintherelevantfields.Thegoalhereis

toestablishtheInstituteasanexpertinternationalpartnerin

allbusinessfieldsandforalltargetgroups.


Alongsideincreasedcontent-basednetworkingwithother

institutes and research facilities, it is also vital to use the

communication channels systematically to spread the

FraunhoferIWES’messagesandcontentandalsototapinto

new formats. The associated goal here is to aid customer

acquisitionthroughspecificpublicrelationswork.The

following measures are optimized and adapted within the

scopeofregularinternalexchanges:supportofnetworking

(contributionstoalliances),assistancethroughspecificmedia

work(PRarticles,pressreleases,etc.),establishingofablog,

expansionofsocialmediaactivities(e.g.,Xing,LinkedIn),

websiteoptimization,testingofnewdigitalformats.

Thesuccessofthemeasurestakenwillbeevaluatedquantita-

tivelyandqualitatively.Quantitativeperformancecheckswill

bedonebymeansofaccessfigures,links,andmedia

monitoring,thequalitativeevaluationviacustomerandstaff

surveys.

29

4. CORE COMPETENCES AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

The Fraunhofer IWES will focus on the systematic further

developmentofitscorecompetences(testingandvalidation,

measurementmethods)andalsodevelopforward-looking

andtechnologicallysuitableactivitiesinordertoachievethe

strategicgoalsintheactionfieldsdescribedinchapter3.The

focushereisfirmlyontheactionfieldsofsectorcouplingby

means of hydrogen, digitalization, and life cycle. With respect

tonewstrategicactivitiesandactionfieldsattheFraunhofer

IWES,agreatdealofenergymustbeinvestedintolinkingthe

Institute’sexistinguniquefeaturesandevidentstrengths(see

SWOTanalysis)withpromisingmarkettrendsinanexpedient

and goal-oriented manner.

The Fraunhofer IWES remains fully committed to its over-

riding goal of pursuing industry- and application-oriented

research.Thismakesitevenmoreimportantnottolosesight

of the ongoing academic development of the Institute and its

staff.Thisformsthenecessarybasisforsustainableexpansion

oftherequisitetechnicalexpertiseandtheacademic

reputation of the Fraunhofer IWES. Our understanding that

industry-orientedresearchandscientificalitycannotonly

co-existbutactuallydependoneachothermustbepromoted.

Accordingly,asubpointofthischapterisdedicatedtothe

strategicallyimportantscientificfurtherdevelopmentof

the Institute.

A road map graphic visualizes the timing of measures and

activitieswithintherespectivestrategicactionfieldsaswell

astheplannedspecificmilestonesofthedevelopments

derived from this through to 2025.

4.1 TESTING AND VALIDATION

Over the past ten years, the Fraunhofer IWES has developed

into an internationally recognized testing institute for wind

turbines.LargetestbenchessuchastheDyNaLab,theTTH,

andthetestbenchesforbladebearings(LargeBearing

Laboratory)androtorbladesareingreatdemandamong

international manufacturers and are essentially operating at

full capacity.

Among other factors, two main trends in the wind energy

sectorappeartobedeterminingtheInstitute’sfuture

development.Ontheonehand,thegrowthofturbinesis

continuingrelentlesslyandturbinesinthe15MWclasswill

belaunchedonthemarketinthenearfuture,yetthereisa

lackofcorrespondingtestingandinspectioninfrastructure.

On the other hand, there is now a sharper focus on the

operatingphaseofturbinelifecyclessincetheoptimaluseof

components is growing in importance due to the high cost

pressure. These components should not only last the

calculatedservicelifetimeoftheturbines,butmustalso

ensuremaximumturbineavailabilityandminimumoperating

risks.Whilethispremiseheldtrueinthepast,itisnowmore

validthaneverbefore.

InfrastructureDevelopment

TheFraunhoferIWEShasalreadyexpandeditstesting

infrastructuresignificantlytoaccommodatethesetrendsand

isfullycommittedtofurtherexpansionasoneofitsfunda-

mentalstrategicgoals.Forexample,testmethodsfor

measuringwind,windwake,modelvalidation,andstructural

mechanicsvalidationonanindustrialscalecanbedeveloped

andtrialedontheAD8/180researchplatform.Atestblock

forrotorbladesmeasuringinexcessof115minlengthwith

theoptionofmodularexpansion,amobile80MVAmedium

voltage grid emulator to perform grid compliance testing for


The current status, future strategies, and planned contentual developments of the action fields defined jointly at the Institute through to 2025 are described below in chapter 4.

30 31


digitalization of environmental measurements and site

conditions. The methodology of virtual testing as a digital

basictechnologyisoneofthedevelopmentalfocalissuesat

theInstitute.Thismethodologyisshapedinparticularby

so-calledvirtualtestbenchesasdigitalreproductionsofthe

actuallargetestbenchesandmeasurementfacilities.They

are used in test planning, scaling, and model validation.

The digitalization activities within the lifetime cycle of wind

turbinesandfarmscomprisemeasurementandsimulation

dataflows,thecirculareconomy,reliability,andmaintenance

aswellasthecontrolofwindturbines,farms,andsupply

grids. With respect to environmental measurements and site

characterization, in addition to the digital processing and

evaluation of measurement data, the integration of measure-

ments and modeling results are also at the heart of activities.

Thedigitaltwincanbecharacterizedbythefollowing

properties:

� Formsadigitalreplicaofaproduct(e.g.,testbench,

wind turbine,component)togetherwiththerelevant

information,

� Comprises the complete product life cycle

(beginning of life->middleoflife->endoflife),

� Supplies model descriptions, a data pool, metadata

structures, and ontologies, which allow data/information

tobeconnectedandthuscreateaddedvaluethrough

complexknowledgerepresentations,

� Managesinformationandservesvarioususersandissues,

� Provides structured information on various applications via

a uniform interface,

� Servesvarioususers,e.g.,fitters,worksmanagers,

designers,logisticsexperts,engineers,

� Takesadvantageofdiversedatasources,e.g.,corporate

structure, production, manufacturing and material data of

digitalizedproducts,physicalsystems,embeddedsystems,

sensors, product data sheets, technical drawings,

measurement data, repair logs, calculation results, etc.

The following graphic illustrates the term digital twin.

In simpleterms,theso-calleddigitalshadowcanbedefined

asasubsetofadigitaltwin.Itanswersspecificquestions

and, accordingly, only has a reduced relevant data pool with

corresponding structures.

DATASOURCES

Subcomponents

Calculation results

Systems

Subsystems

Tech. drawings

Repair protocols

Measurement data

Corporate infrastructure

DP infrastructure

DIGITALTWINAPPLICATIONINTERFACE

Operational management

Assembly

Control software

CAD

Data analysis

Maintenance

Simulation

DigitalTwin

windenergysystemsupto20MW,agenerator/invertertest

benchforonshorewindturbinesystemswithadrivepower

of9MW,andafullyelectronicinvertertestbenchwithout

rotating machine set are all planned for 2021.

Inthisenvironment,testingonsystemlevel(e.g.,nacelle

testing)isincreasinglyrevealingtheexponentialgrowthin

costsfornew,largertestbenches.Atthesametime,the

numberofmanufacturersventuringintothe15–20MWclass

lookssettoremainnegligible.Thismakestheconstruction

of everlargertestbenchesfraughtwithrisk,andthepublic

fundingthereofisquestionablefromafundingpolicy

perspective.

* Source:https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalisierung#cite_note-8

MethodsDevelopmentandComponentTesting

Consequently,whendevelopingnewtestbenchesatthe

FraunhoferIWES,suitabletestmethodsaresystematically

used in order to carry out more testing at component level

and, in turn, validate properties at system level. Accordingly,

theInstitutehassetupatestbenchforperforminghighly

dynamic testing to validate electrical component models.

This componentcertificationstrategyenablesaconsiderably

increasedtestingdepthandahighlevelofreproducibilityat

low cost compared to the corresponding system tests. Such

approachesarealsobeingpursuedattheFraunhoferIWES,

includingwithnewtestbenchesandmethodsforthe

componentandsectiontestingofrotorblades.

4.2 DIGITALIZATION

One focal point of strategic development in the information

ageseekstoanswerthequestion:“whataddedvaluecan

the Fraunhofer IWES generate for customers and society

through digitalization methods?”

Since around 2013, the term digitalization in the German

mediahasbeenusedalmostexclusivelytodescribethe

far-reaching mega trends of digital transformation and

penetration of all areas of the economy, state, society, and

dailylife.Generallyspeaking,thisrefersto“thetargeted

identificationandsystematicexploitationofpotentialarising

from digital technologies”.*

TheFraunhoferIWES’digitalstrategypursuesdefined

activities in the areas of digital twin/shadow, digitalization of

the development, planning, and operating phase as well as

2020 2025

2020 Q3: � BEAT2.2–Tracktestbench2mbearings� Commissioning Generator- Inverter-Test benchHiL-Grid-CoP

2020 Q4:Largesubcomponenttestbenchforrotorblades/segmenttesting

2022 Q1:80MVAMobileGridEmulatorMobil-Grid-CoP

2022 Q3: PQ4Wind Inverter Test Bench

2021 Q3: � BEAT1.0–Complexrollerbearingtestbenchfor1mbearings� Openingof115m+rotorblad

2023–2025:Expansionof115m+rotorbladetestbenchto130mtestbench(possible,butnotyetfinanced)

Timeline Test and Validation 2020–2025: Projects and infrastructure

32 33


Huge amounts of data are accrued in the operating phase of

windturbinesandwindfarmsinparticular.Theuseofdata

science methods to evaluate this data helps to optimize

operation and service, e.g., with regard to early error

detection, failure cause analysis, and yield optimization.

Digitalization also plays a central role for a multitude of

reasons when it comes to site characterization. It facilitates

thedevelopmentofnewmeasurementmethods(e.g.,remote

explorationsuchasseismics,LiDAR,andradar),complexdata

analysisprocedures(e.g.,calculationofsyntheticCPT),and

theintegrationofmeasurementdataandmodeleddata(e.g.,

digitalbuoy,completionofdataseries,errorcorrections).

FraunhoferIWESActivities

The ongoing and planned activities at the Fraunhofer IWES

undertheumbrellaterm“digitalization”canbeassignedto

oneofthepreviouslydefinedfields.Thelistbelowprovides

an initial overview to this end.

Virtualtestbenches/measurementfacilities:

� Virtualbuoy:Integratedmeasurementandmodeling,

� Virtualbladebearingtestbench:Simulationofthetesting

environment and numerical test design,

� Digitaltestingfiles:Recordingofalltestresultsin

the wholebladetest,

� Digitalcomponentfiles:Recordingofproductionand

load history,

� Rotorblade,issuesrelatingtothebinationaljointresearch

project“ReliaBlade”,

� Multimodalreliabilitymodelsforcontrollingand

maintenance,

� Virtualnacelletestbench:Mechanicalmodelvalidation

andcertificationofelectricalproperties,

� Virtualsupportstructure:Experimentallyprovensoftware

models of support structures and their ground/structure

interactionstovalidatecustomers’engineeringmodels,

design assumptions, and structures.

Summaryofthesharedgoalsofvirtualtestbenches:

� Virtual preparation of testing orders,

� Development of complementary products for

testing orders,

� Virtual test performance,

� Digitalpost-processingoftestingorders,digital validation.

Digitalizationoftheoperatingphase:

� Statisticalanalysisofvariousdataflowsinthefieldaswell

asmeasurementdataasthebasisandinputforonline

evaluations during operation,

� Useofmachinelearningmethodsforadvancedevalua-

tionsofwindturbineoperationforearlyerrordetection

andfailurecauseanalyses(datascience).

Digitalizationofenvironmentalmeasurements:

� EstablishmentofsyntheticCPTmeasurementsasa

productforthegeotechnicalexplorationofwindfarms,

� Development of an integrated, geostatistical overall model

ofthesubsoil,

� Probabilisticmodelingofuncertaintiesinthesubsoil

model.

With its various departments, the Fraunhofer IWES already

boastsawealthofexpertiseintheapplicationofdigital

methods.Inthemedium-term,thesearetobepooledina

matrixstructuretoformagileteamsinordertogenerate

digital solutions and corresponding added value across the

Institute. The Institute continues to focus essentially on specif-

icapplicationsandquestionsinrelationtothewindindustry

and coupled sectors. There are no plans for the internal

development of specialist structures within the organizational

units(OU)inthefieldofdigitaltechnology(e.g.,AI,high-per-

formancecomputing,cybersafety).TheFraunhoferIWESsets

greatstorebycooperativepartnershipswiththerelevant

specialist institutes within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

(e.g., SCAI,ITWM,IAIS,FIT,IZB).

2020 2023 2022 2025

2020Digital enhancement of buoymeasurements

2021 Digital online micrositing with CFD and data evaluation

2023 � Visualization of the aerodynamicsofbladetestingtodetermine aerodynamic damping �MicrositinginCFDwith uncertainties online

2024 � Virtualbladebearingtestbench� Digitaltwinbladeinfusion

2023� Automatic data processing during maintenance� AImethodsforfielddata-basedRCA� Virtualnacelletestbench

2022� Digitalenhancementofbuoy

measurements close to the coast� Data science early error detection

2025Digital site assessment with

measurement data, long-term correction, deep learning correction,

climate uncertainties

Timeline Digitalization 2020–2025: Projects and infrastructure

34 35


4.3 MEASUREMENT METHODS

TheFraunhoferIWEShassetitselfthetaskoftailoring,

developing, and applying innovative and relevant measure-

mentmethodsforthebenefitofthewindindustry.The

Instituteseesitselfasprovidingabridgingfunction:with

regardtobasicresearchandsubsequentmeasurement

techniquedevelopment,itisidentifyingnewmethodsof

interest for use in the wind industry, developing these in line

with the needs of the sector and putting them into practice.

Over the past few years, the development of measurement

methodsforenvironmentalconditionshasbeenshapedby

twomajortrends:remotesensingtechnologiesonthedevice

side and algorithms for data processing and evaluation. As a

result,newtechnologicalpossibilitiesformeasurement

technologyhavebeencreatedwhichhavefundamentally

improved the measurement of environmental conditions for

wind farm development, particularly offshore. When it comes

toimportantcoretopics,theInstitutehasshownitselftobe

adriverofinnovationforthewindindustryandhasmadekey

contributionstotheestablishmentofnewmeasurement

methods.Particularmentionmustbemadehereofwind

potential determination with the Fraunhofer IWES LiDAR

buoyandboulderdetectionbasedon3Dmultichannel

seismicssincetheseareuniquesellingpointsoftheInstitute

intheglobalmarket.

Whenitcomestowindturbinemeasurement,theFraunhofer

IWES is an institute accredited to ISO 17025 for the measure-

ment of load conditions and the power curves of wind

turbines.Expertiseinwindmeasurement,theinstallationand

handling of measurement technology, and the interpretation

oftherecordedfieldmeasurementdatahavebeenmerged

here.

Ongoing digitalization remains the most important factor for

the strategic development of this topic at the Fraunhofer

IWES; innovations here are not only in the form of improved

processingandevaluationofmeasurementdatabutarealso

extendingincreasinglytotheintegrationofmodelingresults

and the fusion of measurements and modeling. Good

examplesofthisare:

� The coupling of in situ wind measurements with weather

model driven simulation results,

� The integration of in situ measurements in digital twins

and

� The integration of measurements and real-time

simulationsinturbineandwindfarmcontrol.

The technological development of remote sensing methods is

alsobeingdrivenforwardandoffersnewpossibilitiesforthe

windindustry.Examplesofthisincludethemeasurementof

4Dwindfieldsuptothescaleofwindfarmclustersbymeans

of dual Doppler radar and the detailed characterization of

turbulentinputwindfieldstoensureoptimizedturbine

design and operation of large farms.

TheFraunhoferIWESalsofocusesonenablingthewind

industrytogetthemaximumpossiblebenefitsfromthe

developedmeasurementmethodsandtoimproveandqualify

thesefornewapplications.Take,forexample,theseismic

methodsdevelopedfortheefficientdocumentationofthe

subsoilcharacteristicsofoffshorewindfarms.Theseshallalso

beusedtoobtainacomplete3Dseismicmeasurementof

wind farm areas with integrated geotechnical characteriza-

tionandfornovelseismicUXOandcabledetectionmethods.

TheFraunhoferIWESLiDARbuoyiscurrentlybeingqualified

for further applications, e.g., power curve measurements and

thedeterminationofthedesignbasis.

2021 � CommercialuseofLiDARbuoysforperformance curvemeasurementanddesignbasecreation

2023 � Firstmonitoringbuoyputintooperation� Digitalwindmeasurementbuoy

2020 2023 2022 2025

2022� ImprovedwindturbinedesignbasedonmeasurementoftheinflowwindfieldwithLiDAR

�Windfieldmeasurementwithradar

2025� Integration of wind measurements in digital twin and controls

� NewtypeLiDARbuoyWIND MEASUREMENT

2024 � CableandUXOdetectionwithseismics�Measurementofsubsoilpropertiesinarea close to the pile

2024� Early detection of damage to the tower and foundationsbyusingseismics

2020 2023 2022 2025

2023� Soilpropertiesmodelbasedon seismic and geological surveys

SUBSOIL INVESTIGATION

2023� Improvedturbinecontrolthankstoalternativetonacelleanemometry� Optimizeduseofpitchadjustmenttoreducenoise

2020 2023 2022 2025

2022� Improvedunderstandingofwindturbinesbasedoncomprehensive

measurementofan8MWoffshoreturbineWIND TURBINE MEASUREMENT

Timeline Measurement methods 2020–2025: Projects and infrastructure

36 37


Withrespecttoturbinemeasurement,theInstituteisaiming

to develop special and innovative sensors which are perfectly

tailoredtotheneedsofthewindenergyindustry.An impres-

sivelevelofexpertisehasbeenbuiltupinthemeasurement

of pressure ratios, acceleration measurements, and thermog-

raphy as well as general mechanical load measurement.

This istobeincreasinglyutilisedoverthenextfewyearsin

interdepartmentalresearchprojects.

TheFraunhoferIWEScanbenefittwo-foldfromthedevelop-

mentofsensorsforuseinwindturbines:dependingonthe

intended application, the innovative sensors are put through

theirpacesontestbenchessuchastheDyNaLab,thelarge

bearingstestbench,theTTH,andthebladetestbench.

The newmeasurementmethodologycanthenbeusedboth

inthefieldanddirectlyonthetestbenches.

4.4 LIFE CYCLE

Consideringthegrowingnumberofwindturbines,value

creation in the wind energy sector is moving away from the

productionandsetupofturbinesandfarmstowardamore

comprehensivetakecomprisingtheentireturbinelifecycle.

This not only includes the planning processes for wind farms,

development, and construction together with the setting up

ofturbinesbutalsooperation,themonitoringofturbines,

repair processes, and, ultimately, decisions on service life

through to dismantling and recycling of the machines. The

FraunhoferIWEShasalreadycontributedtothislifecycle

approachinmanyareaswithitswork.Thiscorethemeisto

befurtherexpandedupontoallowtheInstitutetomeetits

goalofbecomingtheleadingwindenergyresearchfacility.

The life cycle management approaches cover very different

subjectareas.Whattheyhaveincommon,however,isthe

changedtargetgroup:operatorsandtheirbusinessfieldsare

beingaddressedfirstandforemost.Thisalsomeansthata

closedandtargetedapproachisrequiredfortheproduct

development of life cycle management.

Thefollowingareasaresettobecomecentraldevelopment

fieldsoverthecomingyears:

CircularEconomy/ProductionofRotorBladesfrom

SustainableMaterials

Assumingitisnotcausedbysingulareventssuchasa

lightningstrike,structuraldamageonrotorbladescanbe

divided into two categories: production- and design-related

damage. The Fraunhofer IWES intends to grow its testing

expertiseinordertosupportwindfarmoperatorsoptimally

withrepairsolutionsinthefuture.Thiscanbedoneviaa

full-scale test or a 1:1 component test. The methods already

developedintheproject“FutureConcept”forsectionand

component testing are therefore particularly well suited for

certifying repair solutions.

Newproductionmethodsarebeingdevelopedandtrialedin

theBladeMakerDemoCenter.Thisknowledgewillbeusedin

thefuturetobetterassessthesuitabilityofmaterialsfor

productionwhichhavethegoalofmakingiteasiertorecycle

rotorblades.Theinfusiontests,thedevelopmentofinfusion

strategiesforthermoplastics,andtheuseofrenewable

resources are all focal issues here.

This should go hand in hand with the development of a

recyclingcenterforrotorblades.TheFraunhoferIWESis

strivingtobecomeacentralinstitutionforrotorblade

recyclingand,indoingso,toanchorexpertiseinrotorblades

over their entire life cycle at the Institute.

MonitoringConcepts

Thankstotheoperationoftestbenches,theFraunhofer

IWES can avail itself of numerous options for testing a great

varietyofmonitoringsystems.Effortsinthefuturewillbe

concentratedoncarvingoutthisareaofwork.

ThemanufacturersofSHMandCMsystemsforrotorblades

canvalidatethesesystemsinthefullbladetest.Aboveand

beyondthis,togetherwithapartner,theInstituteisdevelop-

ing cost-effective acoustic emission sensors for structural

monitoring. The Fraunhofer IWES is also assisting the

developersofSHMsystemswiththevalidationofhard-and

software in connection with support structures, i.e., towers,

jackets,andvariousfoundationsystems.TheInstituteisable

to simulate realistic loading conditions in support structures

with large-scale mechanical testing facilities and a foundation

test pit.

Whenitcomestoearlyerrordetectionbasedonoperating

data(monitoring),theaimistoensureimprovedforecasting

anddetectionofcomponentfailurebyusingexistingdata

flows.Thisforecastingallowsformoreefficientandcost-ef-

fectivemaintenanceplanningandshiftstheoperator’s

attentiontoturbineerrorsahead.Bothoperatorsandcontrol

roomsoftwaremanufacturersbenefitfromthis.

38 39


Theratiobetweenoverallyieldandtotalcostsisrelevant

for theoperatorsofwindfarms.However,whethertheyield

achievedwastheoptimalvaluepossiblecanonlybe

determinedusingcomplexpost-constructionanalyseswith

the inclusion of wind conditions in the calculations.

The FraunhoferIWESisexpandingitsexistingskillsfromthe

offshore sector to the onshore sector and, among other

things,ispursuingthegoaloffurtherdigitalizing(automated

toolchains)andstandardizingthisexpertise.

Continued Operation

In2021,windenergyturbineswithatotaloutputofaround

4,000MWinGermanywillceasetobefunded.Upto2025,

onaverageupto2,400MWannuallyandatotalofaround

16,000MWwillfollow(source:BWEe.V.).Repowering,

however,isbeingsloweddownbyapprovalprocesses.The

continuedoperationofturbinesisofgreatinteresttoturbine

operators for monetary reasons and also from an environ-

mentalpolicyperspective.Inordertoextendtheservicelife

ofturbines,theirtechnicalconditionmustbeevaluatedas

preciselyaspossibleattheendofthedesignatedoperating

lifetimesoastobeabletopredicttheremainingservicelife.

Forthisestimate,thefatigueloadsoftheaffectedturbines

are generally determined using generic simulation models

and compared against the originally calculated design loads.

However, the information on the remaining service life is

frequentlysubjecttoconsiderabletimedifferencesand

uncertainties, as the generic models used are error-prone due

tomodelsimplificationsordifficult-to-reconstructwind

conditions,forexample.TheFraunhoferIWESisdeveloping

newandimprovedmethodsforthemarketherebothwith

regard to load calculation and in terms of support structure

design. In connection with offshore repowering in particular,

theInstituteisalreadyworkingintensivelywithinnovative

systems to improve the condition of offshore pile foundations

soastoextendlifetimesandthusrepowering,i.e.,the

strengthening of support structures to withstand larger

turbines.

WindFarmSimulation

Todate,operatingwindfarmshavebeenanalyzedbased

exclusivelyontheirmeasuredstate.Inotherfields,onthe

otherhand,co-simulationsofindustrialprocessesarebeing

performed which can determine what is currently happening

onandinamachine.Usingitsexistingknowledge,the

FraunhoferIWESisstrivingtomakethispossiblenotonlyin

windfarmsbutalsoinwholewindfarmclusters.Tothisend,

areal-timewindfarmsimulatorisbeingdevelopedwhichcan

simulatetheeventsinthewindfarm,takingaccountofthe

wind conditions, and thus represent all processes virtually.

Thisresultsinadigitaltwin,whichenablestheservicelivesof

theturbinesandtheircomponentstobeestimatedand

whichalsoallowserroranalysesbasedondeviationsbe-

tween actual operation and the simulation. A simulator of

thiskindcanalsoservetooptimizelayoutintheplanning

phaseandsubsequentlyoperatingmodesortoevaluate

specialoperationalscenariosinordertoensuregridstability

forexample.

Inthefuture,thereal-timesimulatorplatformshouldbecom-

binedwithexistingFraunhoferIWESsimulationtoolsfor

transportandinstallation(T&I)aswellastheoperationand

maintenance(O&M)ofoffshorewindfarms.Thesecan

virtually depict the entire installation and operating phase of

20–25yearsonanhourlybasis.Indoingso,thestatistical

reliabilitysimulation,maintenanceprocesses,weatherdata,

operationallimits,andresources(personnel,ships,spare

parts,locations)aretakenintoaccount.Moreover,the

income development is determined while allowing for the

electricitymarketmodelsandcosts.TheO&Msimulation

programs are thus virtual test centers for logistical concepts

for the construction and operation of offshore wind farms

and help to optimize offshore processes right along the

value-addedchain.Thesoftwarecanalsobeusedtoassess

innovations,e.g.,inresearchprojects.Withthehelpofship

and helicopter positioning data, among other things, the

actualstateofseasidewindfarmlogisticsistoberecorded

and optimized online using simulations in the future.

2021 � Logisticsreverse–Disassemblyofoffshoreturbines

2025 � Recycling depot 2.0

2020 2025

2020�Manufacturingtrials forbladematerials(BladeMaker)

2022� Dismantlingstrategiesforrotorblades

2024 � AIS tool Inclusion of

position data

2021� Offshore times Application tool

2020 2025

2025� O&M+farm

Overall simulation

2022� Commissioning wind farm simulator� COAST 2.0 Installation concepts

2021� Large-scale testing, Support structure repowering

2020 2025

2020� Comparison of 1 Hz SCADA with model data

2024� Prototype support repowering

2021 � Dynamiccurveasanofflinetool

2025 � Online tool PCA

2020 2025

2022 � Onshorewindindex � Data science early error detection

Timeline Lifecycle 2020–2025: Projects and infrastructure

SUSTAINABLE TURBINE

WIND FARM SIMULATION

CONTINUED OPERATION

MONITORING CONCEPTS

40 41


4.5 HYDROGEN ACTIVITIES

A future focal point of research for the Fraunhofer IWES will

besectorcouplingandtheconversionofgreenelectricity

into other energy storage media such as hydrogen. Cross-sec-

torsolutionswillbeessentialinthefutureinordertomeet

Germany’sandtheEU’sCO2savingsgoalsandtopush

ahead with the energy transition. Fluctuations in regenerative

feed-incanbesmoothedoutbyconvertingelectricityinto

other storage media, resulting in security of supply and grid

stability.Thiswillmakeitpossibletoavoidthecurtailment

andswitchingoffofwindturbinesduetotemporarysurplus

productionandcapacitybottlenecksinthetransmissiongrid.

At the same time, the annual energy production from wind

energycanbeusedmoreeffectively.Thesesecondaryeffects

of sector coupling, especially with the help of hydrogen,

serve to cut costs at the energy system level.

In the offshore sector in particular, the conversion of the

electrical energy generated in the wind farms into hydrogen

directlyonsiteisbeingconsidered.Yet,comprehensive

testingoftheinteractionofthevarioustechnologiesandsub-

systemsusedisnecessarybeforethistechnologycanbeused

on a large scale offshore. The test site in Bremerhaven is ideal

to this end as not only are the wind and general environmen-

talconditions(e.g.,salinityoftheair)similartoanoffshore

sitegiventhecloseproximitytotheRiverWeserandthe

NorthSeabutthetechnicaltestinfrastructureisalready

eitherinplace(windturbines,gridemulator,etc.)orisbeing

developed.

Aspartofthe“GreenHydrogenforBremerhaven”project

fundedbytheEuropeanRegionalDevelopmentFund(ERDF),

theFraunhoferIWESwillsetupamulti-MWelectrolyzertest

siteontheformerairfieldinBremerhaven,heregreenwind

energywillbeconverteddirectlyintohydrogen(off-grid

concept).TheInstitute’sresearchinterestsincludethe

measurement of the electrical properties of electrolyzers and

fuel cells as well as the further development of special

hydrogenstorageoptions(forexample,LOHC–liquid

organichydrogencarrier),whichhavebeenattributeda

central role in the future of maritime technologies and

shipping.

Furthermore, the switchover of the energy supply of the

LiDARbuoy,whichhasbeenusedmoreandmoreto

determinetheavailablewindresourcesoffshoreinpastyears,

fromdieselemergencyoperationtohydrogen-based

operation,istobeexaminedandimplementedwithinthe

scopeoftheproject.

FortheFraunhoferIWES,thedevelopmentofskillsinthis

sectorrepresentsanopportunitytoestablishahydrogenhub

for sector coupling and hydrogen in the Bremen/Bremerhaven

region in cooperation with other local institutes such as the

BremerhavenUniversityofAppliedSciencesandthettz

Bremerhaven – a step which is all the more important in light

of the development of the Green Economy Region in the

nearbyLuneDelta.

The Fraunhofer IWES is also a partner of the North German

RealLaboratory(NDRL).Aspartoftheseactivities,research

resultsfromtheprojectinBremerhavenarebeingactively

shared with those partners involved in the NDRL.

TogetherwiththeCompetenceCenterforRenewable

EnergiesandEnergyEfficiency(CC4E)attheHamburg

UniversityofAppliedSciences,theFraunhoferIWESis

systemically studying aspects of green hydrogen production

bymeansofelectrolysis.Theemphasishereisonthesystem

levelfocusingontechnicalreliability,theimprovementof

systemefficiency,andtheanalysisofsystemtimeconstants

andcoupledcostmodels.Thedatabasefortheseanalysesis

generatedbymeasurementsonMWelectrolyzersandat

testsfieldsinHamburg-Bergedorf,Bremerhaven,andinthe

NDRLaswellasincludingdatafromongoingprojectsand

industrial partners. The goals include the development of

a datapoolforhydrogengeneratortechnologiesandthe

development of test methods for further component

certificationinthefieldofhydrogengenerationand

reconversion.

2020 2023 2022 2025

2021 Q2 Launch of the North German Real LaboratorywiththeApplicationCenter “Integrated Local Energy SystemsforSectorCoupling”(ILES)inHamburg

2022Q1 Commissioning and test

operation of the electrolyzer testfieldinBremerhaven

2022Q3 Commissioning of the simulation platform for

offshore hydrogen production in HH-Bergedorf

2023Q3 Commissioning of the hydrogen demonstration center HH-Bergedorf

2023Q1SeawaterdesalinationtestonthetestfieldinBremerhaven

2024Q2Developmentofatestfieldwith6MW electrolyzer output

2022Q2FirstspecimenelectrolyzeronthetestfieldinBremerhaven(Plan2Tests/a)

2022Q4Developmentofax00kWLOHCsystemintestoperationinBremerhaven

2025 Q1WindturbinewithdirectelectricalDCcoupling

onthetestfieldinBremerhaven

2025 Q3Commissioningofanoffshorewindturbinetest

field(inBremerhavenorEms/Leer)

Timeline hydrogen activities 2020–2025: projects and infrastructure

42 43


4.6 SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT

ScientificexcellenceisofcentralimportancetotheFraunhofer

IWESinordertobeconsideredbypoliticiansandfunding

bodiesasanoutstandingplayerintheGermanscientific

landscape,toacquireandretaincustomersasanattractive

cooperationpartner,andtobesuccessfulinthefightfor

the bestminds.

The Fraunhofer IWES has undergone dynamic development in

theyearssinceitsfoundation.Whilethefocusinthefirst

years was essentially on developing the Institute and achiev-

ingtheRho-Wigoals,therehasbeenashifttowards

ensuringscientificexcellenceinmorerecentyears.Inafirst

step,theroleofSeniorScientistwasdefined,andcoopera-

tionwasestablishedwithseveraluniversitiesinorderto

supporttheInstitute’sscientificdevelopment.

In 2017, the Senior Scientist team prepared a catalog of

measuresbasedonfourpillarstoensurethescientificquality

of the Institute:

1. Organization of targeted training sessions for staff,

2. DevelopmentofascientificstrategyatOUlevel,

3. Greateremphasisonscientificworkanditsexploitation

inprojectplanning,

4. DeterminationandtrackingofOU-specificresearch

indicators.

Moreover,anadditionalbudgethasbeenmadeavailablein

ordertoawardanannualprizeforthebestpublicationfrom

the Institute and to offer support for doctoral students in the

lastphaseoftheirPhD.Thishasresultedinaconsiderable

increaseinthescientificoutputofthisrelativelyyoung

institute.Thisisdemonstrated,amongotherthings,bythe

Fraunhofer research indicators, which are used within the

Fraunhofer-Gesellschafttoassesstheinstitutesscientific

output. In the most recently evaluated year, 2018, the

FraunhoferIWESrankedamongthetop30of71evaluated

Fraunhoferinstitutesforthefirsttime,withanoverallresult

of12.2points.Itshouldbenoted,however,that,accounting

foraroundathirdofthepoints,anotinsignificantand

recentlyincreasedshareofcontributionscanbeattributedto

Fraunhofer IWES-associated professors.

GoalSetting

The Fraunhofer IWES aims to position itself as an internation-

allyleadingresearchfacilityinselectedfieldsinorderto

remainanattractivecooperationpartnerforglobalplayersin

thelongterm(seechapter4“CoreCompetencesand

TechnologicalDevelopment”).Toachievethis,itisvitalthat

theInstituteincreasesitsscientificexcellenceinprecisely

thesefields.Thisgoalistobepursuedbymeansofthe sub-

goalsandspecificmeasuresoutlinedbelow.TheFraunhofer-

Gesellschaft’sresearchindicatorsshouldcontinuetobeused

totrackthesemeasuresandquantifytheresults.Thegoal

hereistoensurethattheFraunhoferIWESconsistentlyranks

inthetopthirdoftheresearchindicatortableofFraunhofer

institutes.

Subgoal1–CooperationwithUniversities

Strengtheningcooperationinthecorefieldswithinternation-

allyleadinguniversitiesisoneoftheFraunhoferIWES’central

strategicgoals.Thiswilloptimizethedovetailingofbasicand

appliedresearchandensurethatscientificworkissupported

properly in the long term. Approaches in this regard include

the use of personnel overlaps through the creation of shared

positions and, in particular, of cooperation professorships,

thejointsupervisionofPhDprojects,andinvolvementin

national and international initiatives with a strong academic

focus(e.g.,theEuropeanWindEnergyAcademyEAWE).

Subgoal2–StrengtheningofCooperationwithin

Fraunhofer

Especiallyintimesofreducedpublicfunding,internal

Fraunhoferfundingprogramsenablejointinitialresearchwith

otherFraunhoferinstitutes,e.g.,withintheframeworkof

leadandPREPAREprojects(alsoseethesection“Diversifica-

tionofPublicFunding”).Theynotonlyofferachanceto

improvenetworkingandthevisibilityoftheInstitutewithin

theFraunhofer-Gesellschaftbutarealsoanidealwayto

identifyexpertpartnersforfutureprojects.Withtheexcep-

tionofaninnovationcluster,theInstitutehasbarelyad-

dressed internal Fraunhofer funding programs in the past.

Followingonfromthesuccessfulacquisitionofthefirst

FraunhoferIWES-ledPREPAREprojectatthestartof2020,

greatereffortswillbeinvestedhereinfuture.Themedium-

term goal is to apply for at least one internal Fraunhofer

cooperationprojectannuallyby2025.Theexperiences

gained from the application process and the implementation

oftheseprojectswillbecompiledandassessedtotailorthe

future course of action.

Subgoal3–InternationalCooperation

Thescientificworkandtheindustryactivitiesinthewind

energysectortakeplaceagainstaninternationalbackdrop.

ToallowtheInstitutetobuilduponitsleadingposition

abroadinthefuture,internationalnetworkingandcoopera-

tionwithinternationalpartnerswillbehigheruponthe

agenda over the coming years. This demands that the

workingenvironmentattheFraunhoferIWESalsobecomes

more international, especially when it comes to competing

forthebestinternationalminds.Abilingualworkingculture

inwhichinstructions(e.g.,ine-mails,Confluence,and

Quentic)andmeetingsattheInstituteareinEnglishshould

ensurethatnon-German-speakingcolleaguesfeelcomfort-

ableattheInstituteandareabletoproducefirst-classresults

andcontributetothesuccessoftheInstitute.

To intensify this international cooperation, e.g., at confer-

encesandprojectmeetings,attentionshouldbeshiftedto

theFraunhoferIWESsoastoacquirenewstaffandcustomers.

The following measures are particularly well suited for this:

� Internationalcooperationprojectswithinthescopeof

HorizonEuropeandmultinationalprojectssuchas

ReliaBlade,

� Internationalcooperationwithin,forexample,EERAWind,

� Participationininternationalworkshopsandconferences

asameansofestablishingfurthercooperations,

� Committeework/workonstandardswithinIEAWind,IEC,

etc.,

� Cooperation with international universities which are

pioneersintheirfields.

44 45


Subgoal4–OptimizingtheUseofResearchData

and Results/OpenScience

Awiderangeofresearchdatainvariousscientificfieldsis

gatheredthroughresearchanddevelopmentactivities(R&D).

Theefficientuseofthisdatainsubsequentprojectscanhave

a long-term positive impact on the development of new

methods at the Institute. To this end, an effective infrastruc-

turemustbecreated,e.g.,withaneasy-to-accessdatabase

foravarietyoftestdataandanefficientstructurefor

softwaredevelopment.Inaddition,newscientificapproaches

needtobeidentifiedwhichwillservetocomplementthe

workattheInstitute.TappingintoAImethodsandmachine

learningwhichcanbeappliedtoawiderangeoffields

wouldappeartomakegoodsensehere.Digitalizationshould

notjustbeappliedtoindividualfieldsbutisoffundamental

importance for the Institute as a whole and all its depart-

ments(alsoseesection4.2.“Digitalization”).Thediversityof

theworkcarriedoutattheInstituteposesachallengein

termsofidentifyingnewareasandskillswhichshouldbe

focusedupon.Forthisreason,researchactivitiesmustbe

plannedandpotentialsynergiesderivedfromtheexpertise

representedbytheFraunhoferIWESmustbeidentifiedbased

onlarge-scalecooperationbetweentheOUs(alsosee

chapter3.6.“StrengtheningoftheCultureofCooperation”).

Inthefuture,researchworkattheFraunhoferIWESistobe

supportedbyusingthedatagathered,whileensuring

compliance with data rights and the transparency of research

projectsbymeansofthefollowingmeasures:

� Developmentofclearguidelinesontheuseofdata(taking

boththerequirementsofpublicresearchandthesafe-

guardingofindustrypartners’interestsintoaccount)by

the Senior Scientists,

� Useoftheexistingopensciencetools,

� Useofopensciencetohonethescientificprofileandto

render the Institute more appealing as an employer.

In many cases, open science is not in contradiction to the

industryfocusbutratheroffersthepossibilitytoprofessional-

izetheInstitutewithrespecttotransparentandreproducible

processes.

Conclusion

Since the introduction of the Senior Scientist position and the

five-personSeniorScientistteamin2012,thenumberof

researchassociatesandbreadthofsubjectfieldsatthe

Institutehavegrownconsiderably.Inordertocarryoutthe

abovetaskswiththesamelevelofexcellenceand,in

particular,toprovidesoundscientificsupporttoallsubject

fields,alongsideasixthpositionfilledbyageophysicistatthe

start of 2020, the addition of two further Senior Scientists to

the team is also regarded as important: a mechanical

engineerwithaPhDtoprovidescientificandacademic

support,inparticulartotheSystemValidationofMechanical

DriveTrainsdepartmentintheDyNaLabandtheLarge

BearingsgroupintheLargeBearingLaboratory,andan

electrical engineering scientist specializing in power electron-

ics to support and develop this rapidly growing area in the

DyNaLab.

Theregularintroductorytrainingstoscientificworkshould

alsobeexpandedasafurthermeansofestablishingafirmly

anchoredscientificcultureattheFraunhoferIWES.Formalas

wellascontent-relatedsubjectswhichformpartofscientific

methodology–literatureresearch,quotationstandards,

selectionofsuitablemethods,statisticalrelevancewhen

performing tests, evaluations, and the presentation of results

–areseenasexpedientcomponentsofthiskindoftraining.

Tothisend,guidelinesarenowbeingdraftedwhichwill

definetheexpectedscientificoutputaccordingtostaff

category as well as the associated time frame.

47

5. FINANCE AND INVESTMENT PLANNING

46


GrowthintheOperatingBudget

Overthepastyears,theFraunhoferIWEShasbeenableto

achieveconsiderablegrowthontherevenuesideinthe

operatingbudgettogetherwithaconsistentlyhighinvest-

ment volume.

Thisgrowthwasreportedbyallareas.Forexample,the

publicfundingsecuredatnationalandstatelevelrosefrom

€7.5 million in 2015 to €16.2 million in 2019.

Oncloserobservation,itcanbeseenthattheshareofstate

funding vis-à-vis the total funding volume is, however, falling.

In2015,statefundingstillrepresented12%ofthefinancing

oftheoperatingbudget,yetby2019thisfigurehaddropped

tojust3%.Thischangecanbeputdowntoavarietyof

reasons, including a change in priorities in terms of wind

energy research in the home states, the end of start-up

financingandthecomplexityoftheEFRDfinancingoften

used in the federal states. The share of state funding on the

other hand rose to 56% over the same period.

Industrial income

60,000,000

50,000,000

40,000,000

30,000,000

20,000,000

10,000,000

020162015 2018 2019 2020 2025...2017

Industrial income Incomefrompublicfunding, share from federal government

Incomefrompublicfunding, share from states

EUincome Other income Income from institutional funding

48 49


GrowingInvestmentinInfrastructure

Inthepast,investmentswerelargelyfinancedusingfunds

fromtheBMWi.

Inthelastfiveyears,€9millionwereinvestedannuallyon

average. With a total sum of €45 million, the target of

€25 millionassetoutinthelaststrategyreporthasbeen

far exceeded*.

Thesubstantialdevelopmentofinfrastructureisalsoplanned

forthecomingyears;thefocusherewillbeondeveloping

andexpandingtheexistingtestbenches.

Inaddition,inordertoboostthepotentialcustomerportfolio,

considerableinvestmentsareplannedupto2021tofurther

establishhydrogenexpertisewithassociatedinfrastructure.

Fundstothetuneof€11millionhavealreadybeenapproved

forthispurpose.Theseinvestmentsarebeingfundedbythe

federalstateofBremenwithintheframeworkofERDFsupport.

* In2018,thepurchaseofawindturbinewasconvertedintoarentalmodelinamajorfederalproject. Forthisreason,thepublicrevenue(federalgovernment)isshownasnegative.

GrowthofIndustryRevenue

The analysis of the composition and origin of industry

revenueisofparticularimportanceinordertobetterestimate

thegrowthpotentialofthissector.Withinthecontextof

strategydevelopment,theaspectofcustomeracquisition

mustalsobeconsideredagainstthebackdropofthefalling

numberofOEMs.

In2019,thedistributionbetweenOEMsandothercustomers

in the value-added chain was as follows: see graphic 1.

Althoughalargeamountofrevenueisstillgeneratedbythe

classic Fraunhofer IWES customer group, the share generated

byprojectplannersandsuppliershasincreasedtopprox. 30%.

ThepreviousFraunhoferIWESbusinessmodeliscloselylinked

tothedevelopmentoftestbenchandmeasurementinfra-

structurecapacities;thiscloselinkistheresultoftheanalysis

ofthecontentofindustrialprojectsin2019:seegraphic2.

Around98%ofallindustrialprojectsarerelatedtothe

FraunhoferIWES’infrastructure.Itwouldthusseemverydiffi-

culttoacquireprojectsexclusivelythroughstaffexpertise.

Thisproblemhasalreadybeenaddressedwithactivities

related to the digital twin and other digitalization initiatives,

which will increasingly decouple the portfolio from the direct

testbenchhardware.Nevertheless,thisisstillalimitingfactor

for the growth of the Institute.

GRAPHIC1:Growthinindustrialrevenues–

Analysisofindustrialcustomers(2019)

GRAPHIC2:Growthinindustrialrevenues–

Analysisofindustrialprojects(2019)

in Euro

6,839,788

3,137,191

OEM

Non-OEM

Notrelatedtotestbenches

Related to testbenches

Incomeintheinvestmentbudget

Industrial income Incomefrompublicfunding, share from federal government

Incomefrompublicfunding, share from states

EUincome Other income Income from institutional funding

25,000,000

20,000,000

15,000,000

10,000,000

5,000,000

0

- 5,000,000

-10,000,000

...2015 2019

2018

20172016 2020 2025

50 51


FinancingChallengesovertheComingYears–from

Rho-Wi50+totheGroupAverage

For more than ten years now, wind energy research has

concentrated on funding from a ministry – initially under the

controloftheFederalMinistryfortheEnvironment,Nature

Conservation and Nuclear Safety and now the Federal

MinistryforEconomicAffairsandEnergy.Consequently,and

unlikeotherFraunhoferinstitutes,thishasgivenrisetoan

unfavorabledependencyononeministryandtherisksthis

entails.

Tocounterthisproblem,riskminimizationwasalready

decideduponduringthelaststrategydiscussionbyexpand-

ing the industrial income to a share of 50%. This, however,

wasnotachieved(maximum38%).Paradoxically,theeasy

availabilityofthismoneywasthemainreasonbehindthe

failure to achieve this goal, as it always seemed more

expedienttoinvestinthedevelopmentoftheInstitutethan

tosatisfyfinancialindicators.

Ithasalsobecomeevidentintherecentpastthatalmostall

relevantindustryincomeismoreorlessdirectlylinkedtothe

availabilityoflargeinfrastructureand,assuch,thislimitsthe

sizeoftheprojectswhichcanberealizedhere.

Inlightofthisanalysisandinordertodefineacredible

financegoal,theRho-Wiaimfortheperiodupto2025has

beenloweredto35%,whichcorrespondstotheaverage

valueoftheFraunhoferinstitutesintheMaterialsgroup.

Nevertheless,giventhatthisfigureisextremelyimportant

(calculationofbasicfinancing,visibilityontheFraunhofer

stage),thisnewgoalmustbepursuedwithabsolutededica-

tionand,unlikethe50+target,isaminimumvaluewhich

mustnotbeundercutunderanycircumstances.Thisresultsin

correspondingrequirementsforthebudgetingandcon-

trolling process and, of course, for the operational approach

of all managers.

Furthermore,publicfundingintermsofindustrialrelevance

andsubsequentimplementationinindustrialprojectsmust

beusedmoreefficiently.Thefirstfigurestobeevaluated

withthisinmindshowabroadrangewithintheInstituteand

thesecanbeusedincreasinglyforstrategicdecisions.

Inadditiontotheefficiencyoftheuseofpublicfundsas

definedbythegenerationofindustryincome,greater

attentionmustbepaidtothecompositionandoriginofthis

funding. Despite the lowered goal for industrial income, the

Institutemustworktowardssecuringthebroadestpossible

rangeofpublicsponsors.

BudgetPlanning2020–2025

Onthebasisofdepartmentalplanningfortheperiodupto

2025,theconsolidatedanddepartment-specificdevelopment

oftheInstituteisdescribedbelow:

Insummary,itcanbeassumedthattheplannedgrowthin

publicprojectsisinharmonywiththecorrespondinggrowth

in industrial revenue and, accordingly, the pursued target

corridorfortheRho-Wicanbemet.

2015–2019 2015–2019

Industry in Euro PublicinEuro Ratio

Support structures 1,026,806 6,236,216 16.47%

Rotorblades 9,158,236 17,573,609 52.11%

Drive train 16,250,933 39,797,098 40.83%

Aerodynamics 709,711 4,097,827 17.32%

Windfarmdevelopment 7,552,831 9,827,292 76.86%

Efficiency of how funds are used: ratio of public revenue to industrial income

Instituteasawhole 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

KoWiKap* 227 239 251 263 271

Industry revenues 12,857,470 13,765,011 16,622,770 18,270,842 20,282,245

Operatingbudget 36,719,728 37,408,251 41,650,308 45,768,252 48,798,521

Rho-Wi** 35% 37% 40% 40% 42%

* KoWiKap=Cost-effectivecapacity**Rho-Wi=Percentageoftheoperatingbudgetmadeupbyindustrialincome

Industrial revenues and operating budget: in Euro

52 53

6. SUMMARY AND PRIORITIZATION OF STRATEGIC GOALS

6. SUMMARY AND PRIORITIZATION OF STRATEGIC GOALS

By 2025, the Fraunhofer IWES will have secured a reputation

as an internationally renowned Institute for the cost- and

time-efficientvalidationofwindturbinesandwindfarms.

TheInstitutewillachievethisbyprovidingqualifiedsupport

toprojectdevelopers,OEMs,suppliers,andoperatorsalong

theentirevalue-addedchainoftheglobalwindindustry.

This,inturn,willenablethemtosafeguardtheirinvestments

thankstoitsuniquecombinationofhighlyspecialized

measuring and test infrastructure and leading methods

expertise.

STEPPINGSTONES2025

FinancialPerspective Wewilldoubleindustryrevenuesto

€20millionby2025.

We will generate 5% of industrial

incomeinthehydrogenbusinessfield

by2025.

We will use cooperations and

internal programs to accelerate the

development of our methods

expertise.

Ourgrowthisbasedona

sustainablywell-balanced

budget.

Wewillreducethefinancingofpersonnel

fromindustryandBMWifundsto60%.

We willfinance40%bytheEU,internal

programs,thestates,theFederalMinistryof

EducationandResearch,theFederalMinistry

of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, etc.

CustomerandMarket

Perspective

By2025wewillhaveatleastfive

eachofthemostgloballyrelevant

OEMs,suppliers,developers,

project developers,andoperators

as customers.

Wewillworkonportfolio

management that develops our

core competencesinlinewith

customerandmarketrequirements.

Wewilldevelopbusinessmodels

through to their international

marketingbyhoningourmethods

expertise.

Wewillidentifyrelevantfieldsof

excellencefromourcoreactivities

and develop these into an engine

for innovation.

We will develop the target group- and

market-specificpresentationofourportfolio

and core activities.

TechnologyandDigitaliza-

tionPerspective

We will develop leading methods to

accelerate life cycle simulation on real

andvirtualtestbenches.

We will structure the development of

infrastructure, core activities, and

skillsbasedondetailedroadmaps.

We will promote structured Group-

(Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft)and

institute-wide(IWES)digitalization

projectsinthefieldofsector

coupling(sharedplatforms).

We will professionalize our

work inthefieldofQMand

optimize our processes

(SAP,digitalization).

We will further enhance our organizational

structureandQMprocessessoasto

implement our strategy.

ExpertiseandDevelopment

Perspective

Wewilluseourexpertiseand

infrastructure to develop the

hydrogenbusinessarea.

We will strengthen our cooperations

within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

in ordertodevelopcross-sectorskills

andnewbusinessareasmore

efficiently.

We will promote an institute

culture of transparency,

appreciation, and cooperation

whichisfocusedonthejoint

achievement of goals.

We will develop the leadership

skillsofourmanagersbasedon

our guiding principles.

We will create a decentralized structure at

the Fraunhofer IWES and support this

development through the introduction of

alternative(digital)workingmethods

(“newwork”).

54 55

7. CONCLUSION AND FORECAST

AspartofthebroadandsystematicreviewoftheFraunhofer

IWES’strategicalignment,mostofthepathspursuedover

thepastfiveyearshavebeenshowntobeexpedientand

thesewillbecontinuedalongthroughto2025.TheInstitute

remains committed to its “Focus on Validation”.

Some of the already recognized issues such as the digitaliza-

tionofprocesseshaveprovedtobeascomplexasoriginally

assumed.Theprogressmadeheredemandsthatwedouble

downonoureffortsinordertohavemarketableproductsin

thisfieldby2025.

Theissueofthediversificationoftheoriginofpublicfunds

couldnotberealizedasoriginallyhoped.This,however,

is alsoduetothepleasingfactthatcooperationwiththe

BMWihasbeenverypositiveandalmostallthekeyprojects

couldbeimplemented.Assuch,theresponsibleandreliable

implementationoftheseactivitiestookpriorityoverthe

securing of new sources of income.

Majorchangesintheindustryandthegreaterpossibilities

duetothedevelopmentofexpertiseattheFraunhoferIWES

overrecentyearsbothdemandandindeedenableadditional

content-basedstimuli.Themostimportantstepsarethe

enhancementoftheInstitute’sserviceportfolioforwindfarm

developers and operators as well as the creation of a new

businessareaforhydrogentechnology.Thiswillbedonein

close cooperation with regional initiatives such as the North

GermanRealLaboratoryandcoordinatedwithother

institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft which are also

workingonthistechnology.

Notleast,theInstitutewillhavetolookcloselyatnewforms

ofworkingandchangesinthewaystaffworkandinteractin

thenearfuture.Theterm“newwork”isusedtodescribea

multitude of activities and offerings which will result in a

completelynewworkingculture.Atthesametime,the

increaseinthenumberoffemaleemployees,especiallyin

managerial positions, as well as the internationalization of

recruitmentactivitiesneedtobecometoppriorities.

The Fraunhofer IWES has every reason to anticipate contin-

uedsuccessinthefuturebasedontheachievementstodate.

Ongoing contentual development, the professionalization of

processes,andawillingnesstoembracechangeareall

necessary.TheverybestFraunhoferIWESteamofalltimeis

readytoacceptthesechallengesandmakeamajorcontribu-

tion to realigning the energy supply of the future.

CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION

Quality,OccupationalSafetyandEnvironmentalManagementSystem

TheFraunhoferIWES‘quality,occupationalsafety,andenvironmentalmanagementsystemis

certifiedinaccordancewithDINENISO9001,DINISO45001andDINENISO14001.

TheFraunhofer-Gesellschaftisanaward-winningemployer

LateststudiesbyRandstad,trendenceandUniversumshowthatnotonlydoesFraunhofer

stand for top-level research; it is also one of the most popular employers in Germany.

Therotorblade,materiallaboratoryandfieldmeasurementlaboratoryareasofttheInstitute

are accredited in accordance with DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025. Fraunhofer IWES offers accredited

testingforthefollowingfieldsintheselaboratoryareas:experimentalstructuraltestingof

rotorblades,testingtodeterminethephysicalpropertiesoffiber-reinforcedplasticsandfiber

compositesbymeansofmechanical-technologicalandthermaltestsandalsotestsonthe

mechanicalloadingofwindturbinesandmeasurementofwindturbineperformance.

TheFraunhoferIWESaccreditedlaboratoryhasbeenapprovedforthetestingofrotorblades

asperIEC61400-23bytheIECREcommittee.TheIECRESystem(IECSystemforCertification

toStandardsRelatingtoEquipmentforUseinRenewableEnergyApplications)offersan

internationallyvalidcertificationsystemforproductsandservicesintherenewableenergy

sector.Withthis,wealsosatisfytheveryhighestsafetyrequirementsatthesametime.

2019

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RAKTIVSTEN ARBEITGEBER

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1. PLATZA�rak�vste ArbeitgeberFür Absolventen 2019Forschung

fraunhofer institute for wind energy systems iwes strategy … · 2021. 5. 28. · 4 5 1....

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