the future belongs to the wind

On coastal plains, on the high seas, or in the mountains – wind turbines are everywhere. After all, wind power is the world’s cleanest, safest, and most environmentally friendly sources of energy, which means it will be taking on a central role in energy generation of the future. The transition to sustainable energy sources serves as the framework for one of the most important, forward-looking projects of our time: between now and 2050 Germany will gradually replace conventional energy sources such as nuclear power and coal with renewable energy.
As a result, the trend is toward bigger and bigger turbines that can harvest more and more wind – according to one study of the European Wind Energy Association, rotor diameter will reach 252 meters by 2020 for a rated power output of 20,000 kilowatts. But size is not the only reason why special attention is paid to the rotor blades of a wind turbine, which convert wind energy into mechanical energy. During their service life of ten or more years, the blades will have to withstand many weather extremes and survive sunlight, storms, and rain unscathed – and they have to do that with the rotor tips moving at speeds of up to 400 kilometers per hour. High-performance solutions from Evonik play a prominent role in the production and operation of durable rotor blades and, as such, make an important contribution to environmentally friendly energy generation throughout the entire world. A crosslinker developed for the liquid epoxy resins used in rotor blades, VESTAMIN® makes rotors extremely robust and long-lasting, and reduces moisture absorption. For a longer service life of the gearboxes with fewer maintenance intervals, NUFLUX ™ technology, a synthetic base oil as a key ingredient in lubricants, has received the approvals required from all major gear manufacturers and, with Resource Efficiency, provides its customers with high, in-depth formulation expertise provides.

AEROSIL® and the Dynasylan® bonding agent further improve the mechanical properties and aging resistance of adhesives in rotor blades, which is a great advantage especially for installations built at sea. Because of the constant wind tunnel and salty sea air, the environmental conditions there are much rougher than inland.

Crosslinkers - Creating Marketable and Intelligent Solutions

Since 1962, Evonik is a pioneer and reliable partner for its customers and their needs all over the word in the field of isophorone chemistry. Today, 60 years later, Evonik is represented worldwide by its innovative isophorone-based VESTA brand family. Applications range from coatings and adhesives to civil engineering, high-performance elastomers and composites. Evonik is now going even further by being the first company in the world to create a sustainable isophorone string in order to take a pole position in climate protection and to help customers to improve their carbon footprint.

 VESTAMIN® makes rotors extremely robust and long-lasting, and reduces moisture absorption.