05 September 2023
Robotics start-up revolutionizes wind power maintenance
Free and unlimited wind hits gigantic rotor blades, whose rotational energy is converted into electrical energy by a generator. So much for the theory, and so plausible the call for an accelerated expansion of wind power plants to increase the share of renewable energies in our electricity supply. In Germany alone, the total capacity of all wind turbines is expected to increase from the current level of about 66 gigawatts to 115 gigawatts by 2030. Frequently asked questions: Which areas are suitable for building more plants? How can approval procedures be accelerated? A less common question, but one that primarily concerns wind turbine operators: Who is actually going to take care of the maintenance of the thousands of rotor blades and ever taller towers?
Inspection, repair, cleaning and coating from a single source
The startup Aerones has made this challenge its business. "When we started, service companies had only one option: roped-in technicians had to do all the tasks around the wind turbine manually," CEO Dainis Kruze looks back. So why not use technology to make inspection, repair, cleaning or coating more efficient? First, Kruze and co-founder Janis Putrams experimented with industrial drones, soon followed by even faster and more reliable advanced development. Today, the start-up relies on a modular robotic solution to flexibly offer as many services as possible from a single source.
Service record is at six wind turbines per day
The basic principle behind each Aerones deployment: a service team positions four winches on the ground below the wind turbine and connects them to a robot that can be precisely controlled remotely via a joystick. The robotic arms then perform various tasks – from ultrasonic scanning to rotor blade cleaning to applying an ice-repellent solution.
Optional inspection technology is also added, such as with a crawler that provides 360-degree images from inside a turbine blade. "Initially, we were able to process one wind turbine per day," says Aerones CTO Janis Putrams. "Now our record is six turbines as we kept iterating and have become more efficient."
Cleantech investors support the growth course
For the start-up's founding team, the advantages of their business model are obvious. Take a robotic service that can be deployed so quickly and flexibly that corrective maintenance gradually becomes predictive maintenance – and scale it up to an international level. Key ingredient to be able to pursue such growth ambitions: the support of purpose-driven investors. In 2018, Aerones participated in YCombinator's Accelerator program, placed in the top three at the Slush 100 Pitch Competition, and subsequently secured €2.7 million in funding. In January 2023, another $30 million was added when Haniel joined the Riga-based company alongside investors such as Lightrock, Change Ventures and Blume Equity.
By now, Aerones serves leading operating companies such as NextEra, GE, Vestas, Enel or Siemens Gamesa. "We have established ourselves in South and North America, Europe and Australia, and we also want to grow further in the Asian market," emphasizes Janis Putrams. CEO Dainis Kruze adds, "We want to become the world's largest provider of wind turbine maintenance and inspection." A goal that suits an ambitious start-up with a disruptive business model.
