WinTIL GO LIVE

Wind Turbine Integrated Lidar – GO LIVE; ‘WinTIL – GO LIVE’. With existing funding from Innovate UK under the WinTIL project, Zephir Ltd. has successfully designed a wind turbine hub-mounted wind speed sensor (ZPINNER) based on Continuous Wave (CW) lidar technology that can be used to reduce turbine loading, optimise turbine performance and increase energy generation. By doing so it reduces the cost of wind energy, reduces carbon emissions and increases the security of energy supply hence addressing the energy trilemma (www.worldenergy.org/work-programme/strategic-insight/assessment-of-energy-climate-change-policy/) and satisfies Innovate UK requirements in the Energy Catalyst funding competition. Over the last 10 years, Zephir Ltd. has become a leading global wind lidar innovator and manufacturer, exporting ~80% of all it produces to more than 50 countries worldwide. This step-change innovation, based on ZephIR’s unique core CW lidar technology, aims to deploy the First of its Kind in a real-world, user-facing project offering several UK-based SMEs within the supply chain a significant route to market. The specific business opportunity is the mass adoption of the ZPINNER wind sensor on wind turbines. There are ~300,000 turbines operating globally as an existing addressable market for ZPINNER and in addition there are ~15,000-20,000 new turbines installed every year. While WinTIL has taken core research from fundamental scientific principles and produced a proof of concept demonstrator (TRL 7) which has proven the technology, it has not overcome all the barriers to entry to bridge the chasm from early innovators to early adopters and on to the mass majority in the product life cycle (TRL 8 & 9). There are three significant barriers to overcome to drive mass adoption and uptake of the ZPINNER that will be addressed by ‘WinTIL – GO LIVE’: 1.) First Of A Kind Deployment (FOAK). While ZPINNER has been proven conceptually on an individual turbine, the value proposition is not evidenced to the level required by the market to perceive a low enough risk to adopt across an entire wind farm. The market is waiting for ‘others’ to adopt the technology before it commits. There is a need to accelerate a First Of A Kind deployment of the technology in a significant enough volume that produces the evidence and demonstrates the value proposition to secure volume sales. Funding this stage of New Product Introduction is currently the most significant barrier to market adoption. 2.) Design for Manufacture. The ZPINNER product design is suitable for small scale manufacture but would benefit from additional improvements to enable it to be manufactured in volume in a cost effective and efficient way to the repeatable high product quality demanded. 3.) UK Supply chain investment. Zephir Ltd. is currently organised to manufacture ~100 lidar units per year. Zephir Ltd. has initiated the build / investment in a larger facility to provide increased production capacity but requires assistance for tooling, calibration and test equipment within the ZPINNER manufacturing line. Investment in UK SME suppliers in our supply chain will give the support required for delivering against the significant opportunity that a FOAK deployment will unlock and the option to onshore currently offshored key ZPINNER components.