Automation brings fresh impetus to renewable electricity generation

On the path towards a sustainable future, society is currently engaged in a crucial race against global warming and its devastating impact. To win this "battle," we need to fundamentally transform the energy sector and increasingly rely on renewable energy sources. The SCIO Group is also joining this ambitious endeavor with its Industry 4.0 solutions.

In recent years, wind energy in particular has experienced an impressive surge worldwide, with clear goals set in various countries, including:

What makes wind energy generation so valuable?

The benefits of this "clean" energy source are manifold. First of all, wind energy is inexhaustible, as opposed to fossil fuels, which are a limited resource. Another significant advantage is that wind energy isn’t subject to geopolitical tensions, making it available no matter what happens on the global stage. Countries investing in wind power can diversify their energy sources, reducing their dependency on energy imports, which is especially crucial during the ongoing energy crises worldwide. What’s more, besides the environmental benefits and the need to combat climate change, the wind energy industry creates new employment opportunities. This is particularly significant in rural areas, where job creation can strengthen the local economy and lower unemployment rates.

What economic challenges make it more difficult to achieve these aims?

The various benefits sound promising in theory, but in reality, plant manufacturers face considerable risks, including:

By implementing automation and modern manufacturing processes, plant operators can drastically reduce their production costs and timescales, ensuring that renewable resources can be used cost effectively.

But how exactly is Industry 4.0 integrated in practice?

By driving the energy transition forward with automation: This is the vision pursued by SCIO's brand VESCON in an ongoing project for a wind turbine manufacturer.

As part of this major undertaking, VESCON is developing and implementing customized and automated pole sheets stacking systems for wind turbines, both for prototype production and for the client’s final series production. Pole sheets are essential components of wind turbine generators, producing electrical current via different forms of magnetization, and converting it into electric energy.

Allowing VESCON to implement automated pole sheet stacking systems not only means that the wind turbine manufacturer is ahead of the curve technologically, it also offers them significant benefits for when the energy transition picks up pace in the near future:

Automated stacking:
The automated process ensures exceptional precision and consistency when stacking pole sheets. This guarantees accurate and reliable pole sheet production, that they will be used safely in future.

Process integration:
Each automated pole sheet stacking system can be seamlessly integrated into the entire generator manufacturing process. This leads to improved efficiency and product quality, as the different processes complement each other and improve overall production enormously.

Improved efficiency:
Automation improves and accelerates wind turbine manufacturing which means the turbines can be produced in a much shorter period of time. This helps meet the growing demand for renewable energy.

Keeping costs low:
Automation reduces the need for manual labor, increasing production speed. This, in turn, means that wind turbines are cheaper to install, making renewable energy a more financially viable option.

"As a company, we have to take responsibility and do our bit to contribute to protecting the environment. Our ambition knows no bounds! We’ve worked extremely hard on our innovative plant technology to make turbine manufacturing more efficient and cost-effective without needing to compromise on quality. Knowing that we can make wind farms much quicker and simpler to install fills us with pride."  [Christoph Legat, Sales Manager, VESCON]

As VESCON is an experienced partner when it comes to developing high-quality, state-of-the-art, cost-effective custom machines, the team is able to provide incredible support to clients from a wide variety of industries. From the earliest concept for developing a solution to producing and implementing the finished solutions, our experts can offer all the services that our clients need to meet their unique requirements and make their visions a reality.

If you want to learn more about customized solutions provided by VESCON, visit us at this year's Motek trade fair in Stuttgart and meet our experts at our SCIO teams’ joint booth!