GE Research, GE Renewable Energy, and LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business were recently selected by the Department of Energy (DOE) to research the design and manufacture of 3-D printed wind turbine blades.
The GE business units will partner with the Oakridge National Lab and the National Renewable Energy Lab on a 25-month $6.7 million project to develop and demonstrate an integrated additive manufacturing process for blade designs for the future of large rotors. The project will deliver a full-size blade tip ready to be structurally tested, as well as three blade tips that will be installed on a wind turbine. The proposed project will focus on low-cost thermoplastic skin coupled with printed reinforcement.