BASF chemical engineering enhances wind turbines

Be it in the use of epoxy systems for heavy-duty fiber-reinforced components, coatings for wind turbine blades, foams for the internal strengthening of rotor blades, special grouting mortars or concrete additives for the production of ultra-high strength foundations and towers or lubricants for gearboxes -- BASF supports the manufacturers of wind turbines. With top speeds reaching up to 300 kilometers an hour, powerful forces act on the whole plant. They may make blade tips bend by more than a meter. In addition, weather factors such as snow, rain, heat and UV radiation take their toll on the wind power plant. “Wind farm operators expect that a wind turbine will have a life span of more than 20 years. BASF can help to see that a turbine lasts as long as this, is manufactured more efficiently and thus operates more economically,” said Torben Jensen, head of the Business Center North and spokesperson for the BASF Industry Focus Team Wind Energy.