The EcoSwing project was awarded the Gold medal by well-known Windpower monthly magazine. The award was given in the drivetrain section that focusses on developments adapting to higher-rated turbines and changing grid demands. Read more at windpowermonthly.com
THEVA’s HTS coils for the EcoSwing generator After the successful installation of the EcoSwing generator in Thyborøn, the project has progressed further. Now commissioning has advanced to a level where this compact and lightweight generator is grid connected and producing power. The EcoSwing project has had its "Kitty Hawk Moment" at 14:00h on 6 December 2018 when Envision's direct drive turbine produced net power to the grid. Soon thereafter the engineers could ramp the EcoSwing to 1 MW and beyond. Thus EcoSwing claims the title as world's first wind turbine with a grid connected superconducting generator. Test and verification is in progress to capture new knowledge on operation with superconductive technology.
Continuous development and improvement is one of THEVA's main goals. By the end of 2018, this included adding another Executive Officer for the areas of Finances, Administration and Human Resources. Andreas Wiedmann has taken on the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and second company director. This allows founder and CEO Werner Prusseit to devote more of his attention to sales, development and technology. Andreas Wiedmann has been with THEVA since mid-2018. As an experienced CEO and consultant to technology businesses, in addition to commercial and administrative tasks he will also share responsibility for the search for a strategic investor.
After extensive testing at Fraunhofer institute in Bremerhaven, the superconducting EcoSwing generator was mounted on a wind turbine in Thyborøn, Denmark. The existing permanent magnet generator was dismounted. The generator will now prove itself under real life conditions. You can find a video with further information and installation footage here: https://youtu.be/1MLWuO5-uCM
Dr. Georg Bednorz, Nobel laureate for the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in cuprates and part of THEVAs Senior Advisory Council, gave an interview on the future of superconductivity for the Austrian futurezone magazine. You can read the interview here (German).
THEVA representatives are in demand as speakers at conferences and trade fairs like CCA in Vienna or ASC in Seattle. Please find further information in our press release.
Together with transmission system operators, partners from industry and science presented the results of ground-breaking research on a superconducting cable system at an international workshop on 5th of July in La Spezia, Italy. The workshop brought together 65 experts, including Dr. Markus Bauer from THEVA, and was organised by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), cable manufacturer Nexans, and the Italian company ASG Superconductors. Within the Best Paths project, a superconducting DC power line is being developed. This cable will be able to link offshore windfarms to the high voltage grid. You may find further information on the project's website.