Media

2023
30/05/2023
- Vincent Oettel is new member of ForWind
  
  At the May meeting of the ForWind board, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Vincent Oettel was accepted as a new member of ForWind. Oettel has been a professor of Concrete Construction at Leibniz Universität Hannover since 2021. He is the managing director of the Institute of Concrete Construction (IfMa) and a member of the board of directors of the Test Centre for Support Structures Hannover (TTH). Vincent Oettel's research focuses on sustainable, modular and automated construction.
  read more
24/05/2023
- ForWind and NorthWind sign Memorandum of Understanding for joint wind energy research
  
  On 22 May 2023, John Olav Giæver Tande (Chief Scientist at the Norwegian research organisation SINTEF and Director of the Centre for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME) NorthWind) and Dr Stephan Barth (Managing Director of ForWind - Centre for Wind Energy Research) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for joint offshore wind energy research in the presence of the German Ambassador Dr. Detlef Wächter. Detlef Wächter, Minister President Stephan Weil, Minister of Economics Olaf Lies and State Secretary for Science Prof. Dr. Joachim Schachtner.
  read more
21/04/2023
- Björn Maronga is new member of ForWind
  
  At the April meeting of the ForWind board, Prof. Dr. Björn Maronga was accepted as a new member of ForWind. Maronga has been Professor of Boundary Layer Meteorology at the Institute of Meteorology and Climatology at Leibniz Universität Hannover since July 2021. Research at the institute is conducted by two research groups and addresses current issues in radiation, environmental and polar meteorology.
  read more
20/04/2023
- Elyas Ghafoori is new member of ForWind
  
  During the April meeting of the ForWind Board, Prof. Dr. sc. ETH Elyas Ghafoori was accepted as a new member of ForWind. Ghafoori has taken over the leadership of the Institute of Steel Construction at Leibniz Universität Hannover in September 2022 from Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Schaumann, who was one of the co-founders of ForWind twenty years ago. At LUH, Elyas Ghafoori holds the Professorship for Steel, Composite and Lightweight Construction.
  read more
11/04/2023
- Torsten Schlurmann featured on the VDI-podcast
  
  ForWind board member Prof. Dr.-Ing. Torsten Schlurmann was a guest on the VDI podcast "Technik aufs Ohr". Titled "Danger on the coast - How do we adapt to rising sea levels?", the conversation focused on current developments in coastal areas and the paradigm shift underway in coastal protection to adapt to these changes. Listen to the full episode (in German) at: https://www.vdi.de/news/detail/gefahr-an-der-kueste-wie-passen-wir-uns-dem-steigenden-meeresspiegel-an
  read more
16/03/2023
- Kerstin Avila is new ForWind member
  
  At the March 2023 meeting of the ForWind board, Prof. Dr. Kerstin Avila from the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg was accepted as a new member of ForWind. The main focus of Kerstin Avila's research and teaching is the "Fundamentals of Turbulence and Complex Systems". This fundamental research will contribute to shaping the aerodynamic development of future wind turbines.
  read more

2022

2021
01/01/2021
- New ForWind member
  
  At the last meeting of the ForWind board, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johanna Myrzik from the University of Bremen was welcomed as a new member of ForWind. In 2018, Myrzik took over the chair of automation technology (in energy supply) and the management of the Institute for Automation Technology at the University of Bremen, Department 1 Physics/Electrical Engineering, as a university professor. The institute develops new, intelligent technologies, methods, algorithms, and services that enable intelligent, adaptive, and reliable interaction between generation, storage, grid management, and demand across all voltage levels. Interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary research in energy networks is the hallmark of the Automation Technology Professorship, with a focus on automation of future energy networks. With her research, Myrzik complements the broad spectrum of engineering and physical research in wind energy within ForWind.
  read more

2020
17/12/2020
- New ForWind member
  
  At the last meeting of the ForWind executive board, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Haist from the Leibniz University Hannover was welcomed as a new member of ForWind. Haist succeeded Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ludger Lohaus at the Institute for Concrete Construction in 2019. The research of Prof. Haist is focused on novel digital concrete production and quality assurance techniques, the development of novel multifunctional materials as well as investigation and modelling of the mechanical properties such as fatigue and creep. His research complements the broad spectrum of engineering and physical research in the field of wind energy within ForWind.
  read more
29/10/2020
- With Digital Twin for optimised wind turbines
  
  Using a digital twin to save material, support maintenance, reduce costs and increase wind yield: At the University of Bremen, the ForWind members BIK (Bremen Institute for Integrated Product Development) and IALB (Institute for Electrical Drives, Power Electronics and Components) have started their research on this topic together with eight partners. The aim: the ecologically and economically optimised operation of wind turbines.
  read more
26/10/2020
- Recipe for a storm
  
  Experts from ForWind and the Université de Lyon have now paved the way for studying small-scale turbulence: The team led by Oldenburg physicist Prof. Dr. Joachim Peinke succeeded in generating turbulent flows in a wind tunnel. The flows resembled those occurring in big gales. The team has found a way to literally cut a slice out of a storm, the researchers report in the journal Physical Review Letters.
  read more
05/10/2020
- "Excellent Young Wind Doctor Award 2020" goes to ForWind scientists
  
  On October 2, Dr. Clemens Hübler, ForWind scientist and member of the Institute of Structural Analysis at the Leibniz University of Hannover (LUH), was awarded the "Excellent Young Wind Doctor Award 2020" at the European wind energy conference TORQUE. With this prize, the European Academy of Wind Energy EAWE annually awards PhD dissertations in the field of wind energy of extraordinary quality and innovation.
  read more
14/09/2020
- Predicting the power of offshore wind farms more accurately
  
  Strong changes in wind speed within time periods of less than half an hour - these are so-called wind ramps. If they occur unexpectedly, they pose problems for electricity traders and grid operators. To improve the prediction of wind ramps, ForWind scientists want to use laser beams to measure the wind far upstream of the wind farm. For their research project "WindRamp" the ForWind team together with project partners will receive around 2.75 million euros. The project is supported for three years by the German Federal Ministry of Economics.
  read more
03/09/2020
- WESC 2021 – Call for Abstracts now open!
  
  The next Wind Energy Science Conference will take place as a web-conference on May 25 - 28, 2021. The biennial Wind Energy Science Conference is an international conference initiated by the European Academy of Wind Energy (EAWE). We are looking forward to welcoming scientists in the field of wind energy to present their latest findings and meet across traditional scientific borders. The conference covers all scientific topics in wind energy. Find more information about our program, the topics and deadlines on the conference website. Stay informed and sign up for our newsletter!
  read more
06/04/2020
- How to measure the invisible
  
  ForWind at the University of Oldenburg is one of ten institutions from five European countries in the training and education program LIKE (LIdar Knowledge Europe). LIKE fosters the training of a total of 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) on emerging laser-based wind measurement technologies and their translation into industrial applications. The program is funded by the EU for four years as an Innovative Training Network (ITN) within the Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Actions.
  read more
19/03/2020
- A floating network for wind energy research in Europe
  
  ForWind at the University of Oldenburg is one of ten institutions from seven European countries in the training and education program FLOAWER (FLOAting Wind Energy netwoRk). FLOAWER fosters the multidisciplinary training of a total of 13 early stage researchers (ESR) with the aim of developing high-performance floating wind turbines and thus reducing the cost of wind power generation. The program is funded by the EU for four years as an Innovative Training Network (ITN) within the Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Actions.
  read more
05/03/2020
- Big Data in wind energy
  
  Within the research project WiSA big data, scientists and partners from industry are analyzing large amounts of high-resolution operating data of wind turbines. New and advanced analysis methods will help to detect malfunctions in the operation of wind turbines at an early stage and to optimize the maintenance of the turbines. WiSA big data is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) with a total of 2.6 million Euros over a period of three years.
  read more
27/02/2020
- How to measure wind turbines
  
  ForWind scientists from Bremen and Hannover are developing a new measuring system together with partners from industry, which for the first time will record and visualize the flow behavior of the rotor blades directly on wind turbines during operation. The research project PreciWind was launched at the beginning of the year and is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) with three million euros over three years.
  read more
17/02/2020
- How do rotor blades deform in wind gusts?
  
  In the research project TurbuMetric, scientists from ForWind, the Jade University of Applied Sciences and the University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer are investigating how wind turbines deform during turbulent inflow conditions. The aim of the project is to develop measurement methods that show the deformation of the rotor blades while simultaneously measuring the wind field. This knowledge will help to improve strategies for reducing loads and extending the service life of the rotor blades or to design new blades that operate well even in turbulent flows.
  read more

2019
18/12/2019
- Catch the wind
  
  Testing new methods that increase the energy yield of wind turbines while protecting the turbine components is the goal of a joint project of ForWind and the wind farm operator Ocean Breeze Energy. The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy is funding the recently launched project YawDyn ("Validation of energy yield increases and load reductions in offshore wind farms through adapted dynamic wind direction tracking") with more than 400,000 euro over a period of three years.
  read more
19/11/2019
- ForWind at the Public Climate School
  
  The "Public Climate School" will take place at various universities from 25 to 29 November 2019. With this slogan, scientists from all over Germany are committed to climate protection. At the University of Hannover, ForWind members Prof. Andreas Reuter, Prof. Raimund Rolfes and Prof. Torsten Schlurmann will give lectures on the conversion of the energy system in Germany, wind energy research for climate protection and the effects of rising sea levels.
  read more
11/11/2019
- How do offshore wind farms change the wind?
  
  November 1, 2019, started the research project X-Wakes “Interaction Between the Wakes of Large Offshore Wind Farms and Wind Farm Clusters With the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer”, which is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to the tune of € 3.4 million over a period of three years. In the scope of X-Wakes, ForWind researchers and their colleagues will be investigating how the wind conditions in the German Bight could change if offshore wind farms are expanded on a large scale.
  read more
08/11/2019
- New ForWind member
  
  At the meeting of the ForWind executive board on November 7, 2019, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Astrid Nieße from the Leibniz University Hannover was welcomed as a new member of ForWind. Nieße is head of the Energy Informatics working group at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Her research complements the broad spectrum of engineering and physical research in the field of wind energy within ForWind.
  read more
04/11/2019
- Real-time monitoring of wind turbines
  
  At a kickoff meeting in the Oldenburg WindLab at ForWind on 28 October, the partners in the recently started research project ConUp came together. The joint project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) with a total of 1.2 million euros over a period of three years. Within the framework of ConUp, scientists want to develop methods to be able to modernize existing wind turbines more easily and quickly.
  read more
29/10/2019
- Challenges to Wind Energy Potential
  
  What innovations are needed to make wind one of the world's primary sources of low-cost electricity generation? An international team of scientists has identified three grand challenges for wind energy research. Prof. Dr. Joachim Peinke and Dr. Stephan Barth from ForWind are part of the team of authors who have now published their results in the scientific journal Science.
  read more
28/08/2019
- ForWind at the HUSUM Wind
  
  Together with eejobs.de ForWind organizes the workshop "Qualified for Wind Energy - Requirements and Offers". The workshop will be offered at the Windcareer, the leading job fair for the wind industry, on Friday, 13 September 2019, at the HUSUM Wind. Companies such as ENERCON, Deutsche Windtechnik and GPJoule will provide insights into their working environment and study and education courses in wind energy will be presented.
  read more
16/07/2019
- Continuing Studies Programme: Apply now
  
  Prospective students can apply for the Continuing Studies Programme Wind Energy Technology and Management (“Windstudium”) of the Center for Wind Energy Research (ForWind) at the University of Oldenburg until 4 September. The part-time course provides interdisciplinary knowledge on technology, economics, law and project planning in the wind energy sector at master degree level.
  
  © ForWind, Universität Oldenburg
02/07/2019
- New European Wind Atlas published
  
  Scientists from all over Europe have completed the New European Wind Atlas in the NEWA research project. Together with their European project partners, ForWind scientists have worked on developing and validating new methods for the assessment of wind conditions with the aim of supporting the identification of optimal sites for new wind farm projects. The completed wind atlas was presented to the German national wind industry in the scope of the final NEWA stakeholder event in Hanover on July 2, 2019.
  read more
  
  © Jakob Mann
01/07/2019
- Wind Physics Symposium
  
  How can the planning, operation and monitoring of wind farms be further optimized? The "Wind Physics Symposium 2019" on 5 July at the WindLab in Oldenburg dealt with these questions and the associated physical processes. ForWind presented current research results in the fields of "Wind resource and wind farm effects", "Control of wind turbines and wind parks" and "Experimental and numerical research on wind turbines".
15/05/2019
- Successful Windstudium Alumni seminar
  
  More than 80 graduates, students, lecturers and guests came together in the WindLab at ForWind for this year's alumni seminar of the Continuing Studies Programme Wind Energy Technology and Management (“Windstudium”). After a guided tour through the large wind tunnel, lectures by Henk Lagerweij (Lagerwey) and Dr. Sascha Schröder (EWE) offered numerous ideas for intensive discussions on the future of wind energy technology and the market for renewable energies. Afterwards interested participants had the opportunity to inform themselves about the wind studies programme and to talk to lecturers, alumni and students.
03/05/2019
- BIMAQ provides software for measuring the flow around rotor blades
  
  The ForWind member BIMAQ (Bremen Institute for Metrology, Automation and Quality Science) has now handed over the "Transition Finder" software to Deutsche WindGuard GmbH. It is the result of a joint development for the aerodynamic optimization of rotor blades. These are image-processing algorithms for thermographic imaging to visualize the flow around rotor blades. Data from measurement campaigns in the large wind tunnel in Varel and in the freefield were included in the development.
  read more
  
  © Deutsche WindGuard
02/04/2019
- New ForWind member and newly elected Executive Board Spokesman
  
  At the meeting of the ForWind Executive Board on March 14, 2019, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Karl Peissig, Leibniz Universität Hannover, was welcomed as a new member. Peissig is head of the department "Communication Systems" at the Institute of Communications Technology. At the meeting of the Executive Board, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Schaumann was elected as the new spokesman of the board and Prof. Dr. Joachim Peinke as the 2nd spokesman. The Executive Board would like to thank Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klaus-Dieter Thoben, the former spokesman of the Executive Board.
25/03/2019
- Ground-Breaking Materials for Rotor Blades
  
  In the joint project HANNAH, ForWind scientists from the Leibniz University Hannover and their project partners are developing and testing new materials for wind turbine rotor blades. The promising potential of nano-modified materials and hybrid laminates for industrial applications in rotor blade construction will be investigated in order to extend the service life of rotor blades. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) has provided 3.3 million euros of funding for the collaborative project, which launched in March 2019.
19/02/2019
- New model wave flume at ForWind Hanover
  
  On February 19th a model wave flume was inaugurated at the Forschungszentrum Küste in Hannover. The flume on a scale of 1:10 is a model of the Large Wave Flume in its future expansion level. It can be used to generate currents and waves at the same time. Thus ForWind scientists will be able to study the interaction between both and the simultaneous loading on support structures for offshore wind turbines by these two factors. The construction of the model wave flume as well as the upcoming extension of the Large Wave Flume will take place in the research project "marTech" in cooperation with Leibniz Universität Hannover and Technische Universität Braunschweig.
  
  © Michael Matthey, Leibniz Universität Hannover
11/02/2019
- German Design Award – Award for the WindLab Oldenburg
  
  The ForWind research laboratory for turbulence and wind energy systems of the University of Oldenburg is among this year's winners of the renowned "German Design Award". At the awards ceremony last Friday in Frankfurt, the German Design Council honored the architects hammeskrause architekten in Stuttgart. For the design of the WindLab, they received the "Special Mention" award in the architecture category.
  
  © J. Puczylowski, ForWind, Universität Oldenburg
14/01/2019
- New composition of the ForWind Advisory Board
  
  ForWind welcomes the new members of the ForWind Advisory Board. At the meeting on 8 January 2019, the Advisory Board in its new composition elected Matthias Schubert as its new Chairman. The members of the Executive Board as well as Dr. Martin Mehrtens, Chancellor of the University of Bremen, Prof. Dr. Meinhard Simon, Vice-President for Research and Transfer at the University of Oldenburg, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Wriggers, Vice-President for Research at Leibniz Universität Hannover, also attended the meeting.
  read more
07/01/2019
- Better protection for wind turbine components
  
  Defective frequency converters in wind turbines cause damage running into millions annually due to repair costs and downtimes. In the BMWi-funded project ReCoWind researchers want to find out which influencing factors trigger defects and which processes take place until the power electronics component fails. Next to operators and manufacturers of turbines, ForWind scientists from Hanover and Bremen are involved in the project as well as researcher from Fraunhofer IWES.
  read more
  
  © Fraunhofer IWES

2018
10/12/2018
- SmartBlades2: Field measurement campaign in Colorado begins
  
  Three innovative rotor blades that were developed within the context of the SmartBlades2 project will be assessed under natural weather and wind conditions in Boulder, Colorado (USA), over the next four months. One of the aims of the measurement campaign is to determine how well the rotor blades designed with bend-twist coupling are capable of effectively reducing peak loads in the case of highly variable wind speeds. ForWind's SpinnerLidar measuring device provides data on wind conditions during the measurement campaign.
  read more
  
  © Lee Jay Fingersh, NREL54220
10/12/2018
- Higher energy yield from wind farms
  
  The Center for Wind Energy Research (ForWind) is partner in the joint project "CompactWind II", which will receive a total of 1.4 million euros in funding from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) over the next three years. The project aims to minimize the negative wake effects in wind parks in order to increase energy yield and reduce loads. This would allow more output to be achieved while maintaining the same base area of the wind farm. The project started in December 2018.
  
  © Stephan Voß, ForWind
03/12/2018
- Ensuring the Stability of Offshore Support Structures in the North Sea
  
  ForWind scientists from Leibniz University Hannover are investigating the load-bearing characteristics of wind turbines and wind farm platforms in the research project GREAM. Support structures for offshore wind turbines and wind farm platforms are constantly affected by wind and waves. Particularly in the installation phase, strong swell can become a major problem when the concrete with which the foundation piles and the load-bearing structures are connected hardens.
  read more
  
  © Siemens AG
01/10/2018
- ForWind at the WindEnergy Hamburg
  
  At the WindEnergy 2018, which took place from 25 to 28 September in Hamburg, the three partners ForWind, Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) presented the latest research and developments from the Wind Energy Research Alliance at a joint stand. A total of 1,482 exhibitors from 40 countries presented themselves at the exhibition. WindEnergy welcomed around 35,000 visitors from 100 countries, with 45 percent of the visitors coming from abroad.
  read more
28/08/2018
- New Wind Atlas for wind farms in Europe
  
  Where does enough wind blow for a wind farm? As part of the international NEWA research project, scientists from ForWind and the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems IWES, together with their European colleagues, have launched simulations for the new European Wind Atlas. The atlas is intended to provide an accurate picture of the European wind energy potential and help in the search for optimal locations for new wind farms.
  read more
  
  © Andrea Hahmann, Technische Universität Dänemark
07/06/2018
- Deformation of wind turbines by turbulence
  
  Together with colleagues from the Jade University, ForWind scientists will investigate how wind turbines deform by turbulence. The research project "TurbuMetric - Optical 3D Measurement Techniques for the Detection of Dynamic Fluid-Structure Interactions in Turbulent Wind Environments" will be funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with a total of approximately 1.3 million euros for a period of three years.

back to the overview

Contact

Manuel Siebert
Press & Communication
+49 441 798-5088

Dr. Stephan Barth
Managing Director
+49 151 15789063