3D printer to be used for wind turbine construction

GE Renewable Energy has opened a new research and development facility in New York, US, to conduct further research on how to 3D print the concrete base of towers used in wind turbines.

New 3D printer will advance the construction process of wind turbines (Photo: GE Renewable Energy)

A team of 20 people will continue to work on optimising the 3D printing technology with the first applications in the field anticipated within the next five years. The research conducted at the facility is being supported in part by a US Department of Energy grant and will enable GE to print the bottom portion of the wind turbine towers on on-site wind farms. 

GE Renewable Energy chief technology officer, Danielle Merfeld, said, “Innovation will continue to be a key driver in accelerating the energy transition. It is particularly important to continuously improve the ways we design, manufacture, transport, and construct the large components of modern wind farms.”

Cobod, manufacturers of modular 3D construction printers, were responsible for delivering the new type of 3D concrete printer which they stated as ‘the largest of its kind in the world’. The supplied printer can print in excess of ten tons of real concrete per hour.