AGENDA

Welcome to Blades Europe 2027!

Opening up the event, this session will set the scene on the wind market landscape, focusing on the trends in blade design & innovation and what shifts we have scene in the past decade To be covered:

• How technology is evolving and how this affects engineers
• Supply chain dynamics - blade design & innovation, materials & blade longevity, market demand

Our first theme of Blades 2027: End-of-Life: Starting off at the end, this panel will focus on a crucial area within the blade space and enable attendees to gather insights on how best strategise on End-of-Life blade decisions.

• Explore how best to decide between life extension vs repowering, and what the most reliable indicators are for this decision.
• Inspections - what works best in predicting failures, especially internal failures, and how investing in this can improve blade longevity.
• Recycling - understand the options available and what works best in different situations, and what is cost efficient.
• Blade design innovation - gain awareness of how new blade designs consider end-of-life longevity and logistics.

This presentation will dive into the most effective pathways for blade recycling. More details TBA.

More details TBA

During this fireside chat, two blade manufacturers will discuss what's new in blade design and manufacturing. To be discussed:

• Learn about novel blade materials in blade manufacturing - what are they, how are they performing, how do they affect end-of-life recyclability ect
• Blade size - what are the consequences of changes in blade sizes
• Structural design improvements - learn why blade design in changing, what the new designs will improve, and in what ways they will improve performance and efficiency.

Details TBA

This year at Blades Europe we are excited to showcase some of the most exciting new companies in the space. Run as a competition, this session will dive into some exciting areas of innovation in blades. Each company will speak for 10 minutes, and there will be a 15 minute audience Q&A following.

11.45am - Start up 1

11.55am - Start up 2

12.10pm - Start up 3

This panel will focus on blades in cold climates. Looking into the efficiencies of blade de-icing systems in cold climates, and what technologies can improve blade maintenance in cold climates. Points to be discussed:

• Early detection technologies for icing prevention
• Materials & surface coatings to support blades in cold climates
• Maintenance - techniques to monitor blades in cold climates aka thermal drones

More information TBA

In recent years, offshore wind projects have experienced a number of challenges, such as securing CFD allocations, and supply chain inflation. Collaboration has been cited as a solution for reducing financial loads and resource needs. This panel will examine challenges in Offshore Projects, and examine how collaboration and transparency can provide a solution to these challenges. Points to discussed:

• Offshore service and maintenance - what are the challenges in servicing and maintaining offshore wind projects, and how can we leverage resources from other projects to reduce financial and resource burdens?
• How can we collaborate with existing partners and external companies & stakeholders to reduce the impact of damages? For example, damages from lighting, cold climates, and leading edge erosion.
• For repairs, how can we ensure we are communicating effectively to match repair responses to damage severity? What is the current situation with offshore repairs?

Closing off Blades Europe 2027, this panel discussion will hone in on the inside of the blade. Looking at how we can innovate in our internal blade inspection, repair and monitoring. To be discussed:

• Technologies for inspection, robotics, digital twins, sensors and how to maximise them
• Internal repairs - repairing internal damaged without full removal, and minimising downtime