MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro, formerly Bayer MaterialScience, has received DNV GL certification for new PU resin in China, according to GV.
As part of its sustainability approach, Covestro actively pursues the development of materials and technologies for renewable energy generation with a focus on wind power. In particular, the company developed an innovative technology for manufacturing wind turbine rotor blades. The rotor blades are fabricated in a special process from a polyurethane resin and a glass fibre fabric. The company has now received the important DNV GL certification for its newly developed resin system in China.
DNV GL is a leading international industry standard for the safety, reliability and performance of wind turbines, and is also the market entry permit to the wind energy industry in China. Covestro is the world’s first company that received the polyurethane DNV GL certification in 2016. "Now we obtained the second certification for serving Chinese wind blade manufacturers," said Kim Klausen, global head of Covestro's wind energy programme. "This brings us a big step closer to our goal of increasing the efficiency of wind power generation."
According to Covestro, taking advantage of the good mechanical properties of the polyurethane resin system, wind blades may become lighter and longer through optimised blade design. With faster curing processes and improved processing properties compared to epoxy resins, productivity can be significantly increased. All these benefits will provide a cost competitive solution for the wind industry. The application of PU resin in the wind energy industry opens up a new realm of possibilities for this high performance resin, says the company.
As the Chinese government’s Strategic Energy Action Plan (2014-2020) and the national Energy 13th Five Year Plan indicated, the cumulative integrated capacity of wind energy will achieve 210 Gigawatts by 2020. With the highest total capacity installed worldwide, China represents around 43 % of new installations in the global wind energy industry in 2016.
The limitation of current materials and technologies makes it very challenging for the industry to improve production efficiency and to produce lighter and longer wind blades. With its polyurethane solutions, Covestro says it continuously pushes boundaries of what is possible. The company collaborates with partners along the value chain to offer a high performance resin which gives wind blade and wind turbine manufacturers the competitive edge. With strong R&D investments, a global production network and this newly acquired DNV GL certification, Covestro is the frontrunner in addressing the wind energy industry with PU solutions, says the company.
As MRC wrote previously, in March 2017, Covestro announced that it would continue manufacturing MDI in Tarragona, Spain. The plant closure that had originally been planned for the end of 2017 was suspended for the time being. The main reason for this decision was the significant increase in demand for MDI, said Covestro. Furthermore, the company managed to get access to important raw materials - in particular chlorine - for the Tarragona site for the next years beyond the end of 2017.
Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc.
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