American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) announced that it has acquired a 25% ownership position in Blade Dynamics Ltd. for $8 million in cash.
Founded in the United Kingdom in 2007, Blade Dynamics has developed wind turbine blade technologies designed to increase the efficiency and performance of multi-megawatt wind turbines. The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), through its Venture Capital group, also made a minority equity investment in Blade Dynamics.
“Blade Dynamics will now be able to utilize AMSC’s unique wind turbine design capabilities and business model as well as Dow’s global reach and composite materials to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities we see in front of us,” Blade Dynamics founder and CEO Paul Rudling said.
Today’s 2-megawatt (MW) wind turbines require rotors that are more than 70 meters (230 feet) in diameter, and 5-MW wind turbines require rotors that are at least 120 meters (360 feet) in diameter. Rotor diameter is the diameter of the swept area of a wind turbine’s blades. Ideally, these wind turbines would be equipped with even larger-diameter rotors to maximize power output. Yet cost, weight and transportation factors have historically limited the size of rotors, outweighing performance and efficiency benefits.
“The design and manufacturing processes for wind turbine blades have remained fundamentally unchanged for 20 years,” said AMSC founder and CEO Greg Yurek. “Today, however, the market is migrating to higher wind turbine power ratings. Onshore wind turbines now exceed 2 MW in many locations, and offshore wind farm developers are increasingly seeking wind turbines with power ratings exceeding 5 MW. Blade Dynamics presents us–and the entire wind industry–with a game-changing wind turbine blade technology that enhances performance and reduces weight and cost for high power wind turbines. We view this as a compelling investment and expect many wind turbine manufacturers, including our own AMSC Windtec™ licensees, to quickly migrate to the Blade Dynamics solution to avail themselves of these competitive advantages. In fact, AMSC Windtec and Blade Dynamics engineers have already been working in close collaboration to optimize blades for AMSC Windtec turbine designs.”
In addition to providing AMSC Windtec licensees with a differentiated blade offering, AMSC expects that its investment could expand the company’s sales opportunities with other wind turbine manufacturers around the world. AMSC also expects that Blade Dynamics technology will provide a compelling blade platform for the company’s 10-MW SeaTitan™ superconductor wind turbines.
New Orleans Welcomes Blade Dynamics
Louisiana Economic Development (LED) also announced today that it is providing an incentive package to help Blade Dynamics establish and operate a manufacturing facility in New Orleans. This incentive package is worth up to $30 million and is contingent on the company meeting certain capital investment and job creation milestones. Located at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Michoud Assembly Facility, the Blade Dynamics operation is expected to add at least 600 wind jobs to the local economy over the next decade.
In addition to its presence in New Orleans, Blade Dynamics plans to eventually expand its operations in the United Kingdom as part of a long-term commitment to the offshore wind market in Europe.
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