Feasibility Study for a Multi-MW Ferrite Based Permanent Magnet Generator for Wind Turbines

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Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK

£375,000

May 31, 2020

Feb. 28, 2021

Covid-19 has shown that global wind supply chains are vulnerable to significant disruption. This is particularly relevant to the supply of critical raw materials, such as rare-earth magnets, which are used in multi-MW wind turbines. The current crisis has highlighted the need for the UK to develop its own wind energy supply chain and UK-based key component production. In addition, the UK government has made its low carbon ambitions very clear. It plans to deploy 40GW of offshore wind by 2030 and to be carbon-zero by 2050\. These goals have certainly become much harder to achieve as a result of the international disruption caused by Covid-19\.

GreenSpur Wind, a 100% subsidiary of Time To Act Limited, has invented and patented a new and highly innovative Permanent Magnet Generator (PMG), which can form part of the UK's response to the problems caused by Covid-19\. The Company's PMG substitutes scarce and expensive rare earth magnets (£45/kg) for cheap and highly abundant ferrite magnets (£1/kg). The global wind turbine market requires large rare-earth magnet volumes, which are sourced almost exclusively from China (\>80%). In addition, supply chain shortages are forecast from the mid-2020s onwards (Roskill). GreenSpur's innovation will enable its UK based engineering and manufacturing partners to help the UK wind sector reduce and very possibly eliminate it heightened exposure to a risky and volatile global supply chain.

GreenSpur's long-term vision is to stimulate the development of the UK's wind energy supply chain and manufacturing network so that new multi-MW generators can be built in the UK to meet the country's future needs. This project will build on the three successful machines built by GreenSpur, with the most recent a 250kW generator tested at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult in Blyth (August 2019). This testing proved the accuracy of the Company's computer models, giving strong confidence they can be used to design, rare-earth free, multi-MW generator configurations.

This project will focus on improving GreenSpur's modelling tools and feed into a feasibility study for the design of a multi-MW generator for the UK onshore wind turbine market. This will support commercial conversations with potential co-development partners enabling GreenSpur to submit a strong grant application into the future Driving the Electric Revolution challenge funding call.

Market analysis activities undertaken during the project identified the Offshore Wind Sector Deal (OWSD) as a key medium to long term driver. The OWSD is a Sector Deal between the UK Government and the offshore wind industry. It requires developers to deliver 60% UK content in offshore turbines by 2030. In October 2020, the Government announced that it intends to deploy an additional 30GW of offshore wind by 2030, which equates to a CAPEX value of £45bn. At present turbines can only be purchased from 3 major European OEMs. Leveraging the OWSD effectively would see 60% of new offshore wind turbines spent within a growing and high-value UK wind supply chain. This would equate to at least £3bn GVA per annum to the UK economy from 2030 onwards.

The project was awarded Extension for Impact funding, which will be used to secure expert market communications consultancy. The objective of this additional work will be to develop market engagement strategies based around the OWSD and its related UK supply chain obligations. Strategies will be developed to engage directly with:

• Offshore wind developers, being the organisations most directly impacted by the OWSD.
• UK generator assembly partners, to present the business case to develop GreenSpur’s game-changing generator technology, using the OWSD’s UK supply chain obligations as a key market driver.
• Wind turbine OEMs, to highlight the development of a new and innovative technology that will be supported by a credible and growing UK supply chain, in compliance with OWSD objectives.

By conducting this additional work, GreenSpur will de-risk its commercial strategy and significantly improve its long-term chances of success.