SeaTwirl together with Chalmers and Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) have started the project Analysis methodology for fatigue of wind turbine which shall present a design methodology for fatigue assessment of vertical axis wind turbines, with a focus on the turbine and its composite material and structure.
The work is being done at the Swedish Wind Power Technology Centre. The project is being financed by Swedish Energy Agency, Västra Götalandsregionen, Chalmers, RISE and SeaTwirl.
Besides the research project, SeaTwirl and Siemens have also entered into a cooperation agreement which is focused on the technical parts of the company’s floating wind turbine.
SeaTwirl's wind turbines use a vertical-axis wind turbine with a tower connected to the sub-sea structure, consisting of a floating element and a keel. As the energy of the wind causes the turbine to rotate, the structure maintains its stability by using the keel and the counter turning moment, similar to the function of a keel on a sailboat. SeaTwirl goal is to launch a commercial size turbine in 2020.