AQUADA GO

Automated blade damage detection and near real-time evaluation for operational offshore wind turbines
Objective

The purpose of the AQUADA-GO project is to develop a methodology for automated, non-contact, near real-time blade damage detection and risk evaluation in a single step using thermography and computer vision without stopping the normal operation of wind turbines. AQUADA-GO will take the AQUADA technology developed in the laboratory of DTU Wind and Energy Systems and apply it to operational offshore wind turbines. The project aims to reduce blade inspection cost by at least 50% and offer a significant contribution to drive down the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of wind power by 2-3% over 25-30 years’ project lifetime of offshore wind farms compared to the existing solutions currently available on the market.

 
Expected outcome (impact)

AQUADA-GO will shift the current labor-intensive multi-step blade inspection paradigm to an automated and single-step solution that does not require stopping the normal power production of wind turbines. The project will demonstrate both software implementation and hard-ware integration in an all-in-one drone platform. A full-scale prototype system will be tested and demonstrated on RWE-owned offshore wind farms together with the commercial partner Quali Drone and the research partner DTU Wind and Energy Systems, and eventually create a turnkey solution ready for market entry. The AQUADA-GO technology is expected to reduce CO2 emission by 30 -50% per turbine inspection compared to the existing commercially available solutions.

 

The project started January 2023 and ends December 2025.

The Grant authority of the project is EUDP and the grant for the project is DKK 17,800,000.

The partners of the project are Energy Cluster Denmark, Quali Drone ApS and RWE.

 

Contact

Xiao Chen
Head of Section
DTU Wind
+45 93 51 35 67

THE PROJECT IS FUNDED BY