Norvento starts testing an innovative offshore wind power generator

• The prototype is based on magnetic multiplication technology, which reduces its size and weight compared to conventional technologies, a very important aspect for offshore wind power. 

• The CHEF (Compact Holistic Efficient Floating Turbine) project has been funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. 

• A partnership involving Norvento, Magnomatics and Seaplace is driving and executing this project.

Norvento, a Spanish renewable technologies company, has started validation tests of a new prototype electric generator developed specifically for offshore wind turbines. This groundbreaking generator is based on magnetic multiplication technology, which, besides being more efficient, reduces the size and weight of the turbine, and is being tested in the laboratory of the Norvento Enerxía Innovation Centre (CIne) in Lugo. 

The CHEF Project (Compact Holistic Efficient Floating Turbine) aims to increase the energy production of offshore wind turbines, improving their efficiency and reducing costs. Thus, this new generator development is based on magnetic multiplication instead of the usual mechanical multiplication system. This allows the size and weight of the turbines to be reduced, and cuts down on mechanical wear, which is a major maintenance cost for offshore wind turbines.

Magnetic multiplication, the key to increased efficiency and cost reduction 

The new wind turbine incorporates an innovative magnetic multiplication technology consisting of two rotors and permanent magnets. As a result, it achieves a much higher power density than previously existing mechanical drive systems. These new components’ reduction in size and weight is key to the future of offshore wind energy, as it allows for a reduction in the size of the structures that support the wind generator, which translates into a reduction in the cost of the system. Also, magnetic multiplication helps to reduce maintenance costs, which are higher for turbines with mechanical components as they require constant overhaul and generate more reliability problems. 

This reduction in the size and overall weight of the turbine is particularly relevant in the case of offshore wind turbines located on floating platforms, a type of offshore wind turbine particularly interesting for Spain, given the reduced extension of the continental shelf along the Spanish coastline, both on the mainland and on the islands. 

International partnership 

An international partnership comprising three companies, Magnomatics, Seaplace and Norvento, is responsible for the design, development and validation of the new turbine. The British company Magnomatics was responsible for the design and manufacture of the Pseudo Direct Drive electric generator with magnetic multiplication technology. The Spanish company Seaplace, a specialist in the field of ocean engineering, has developed the concept of a platform with floating foundations on which the wind generator will be located and which, as it does not require traditional foundations, opens up the range of locations where these new turbines could be set up. Norvento is also participating as a qualified user of the generator concept, validating both its technical requirements and its real performance, thanks to the test laboratory for generators at the Norvento Enerxía Innovation Centre (CIne) in Lugo, where it has already tested other designs for its own wind turbines. 

In the current stage of the project, Norvento will evaluate the feasibility of the application of Pseudo Direct Drive technology in offshore wind turbines. Norvento, Seaplace and Magnomatics engineers will test over the coming months the reliability, efficiency and behaviour of this new generator under wind variations and inertial loads induced by the movements of the floating platform. The generator being tested is a 500kW scale prototype of what in the future will be a turbine of between 8 and 12MW. 

Horizon 2020 and the DemoWind2 programme 

The partnership is developing its activity within the DemoWind 2 ERA-NET programme, funded by the European Union as part of Horizon 2020, which contributes to tackling major societal challenges, promoting Europe’s industrial leadership and strengthening the excellence of its scientific base. 

This project is a further step in Norvento’s strong commitment to R&D to develop technological solutions in the field of renewables. Pablo Fernández Castro, founder and CEO of Norvento, stressed: “We are very proud of Norvento’s joint collaboration with Magnomatics, undoubtedly a leading global company, in the creation of this disruptive generator that could be a turning point for offshore wind.”

David Latimer, CEO of Magnomatics Ltd. added, “I am very confident that our collaboration with Norvento will enable us to accelerate the validation of the pseudo direct drive technology and may even open the door to a wider commercial relationship within the wind technology arena.”

About Norvento

Norventois a Spanish renewable technologies company with a comprehensive capacity for action. Based in Lugo (Galicia), the company is 100% Spanish-owned and has been operating in the market for more than 35 years. The activities of Norvento cover manufacturing technology, design, promotion, building, and operation of centralised generated renewable energy facilities (mainly wind farms), generation for distributed generation for industry, and ad hoc energy engineering solutions for customers.

With an active presence in five international markets (the United Kingdom, Brazil, the United States, Poland and Italy), Norvento currently has a total of 750 MW in operation, construction and development, both in Spain and in other markets.

About Magnomatics 

Magnomatics Ltd. is a high-tech company developing and manufacturing products using proprietary magnetic gear technology. These gears improve the efficiency and reliability of mechanicals and the concept is embodied in two products the company offers to the market, the Pseudo Direct Drive (PDD®) and the MAGSPLIT®. The PDD is a high-torque, low-speed electric motor/generator, especially geared towards renewable generation, specifically offshore wind power. MAGSPLIT, currently in the testing phase, is a continuously variable electromagnetic transmission specially designed for use in hybrid traction for automotive manufacturers. 

Magnomatics was founded in 2006 as a spin-off from the University of Sheffield, an institution with which it still maintains strong links, with the aim of commercialising the research carried out at the university on magnetic transmissions.