GreenSpur, Niron develop lighter generator for rare earth-free offshore wind turbine

Past iterations of the GreenSpur generator had attracted interest, but there were concerns about its mass. Keeping generator mass within the same range as existing machines is important, as adding weight requires more structural support, which increases cost.

By designing with Niron’s ‘Generation 1 Clean Earth Magnet,’ which offers significantly stronger magnetic performance than the ferrites used in its earlier generator designs, GreenSpur has developed a new, 15-MW wind turbine generator. Based upon initial non-optimised results, the new generator delivers a significant 56% reduction in mass.

Supported by an Innovate UK grant, the new 15-MW generator design has been reviewed by ORE Catapult, a process that confirmed the design is now able to meet the mass and efficiency targets required by the offshore wind market.

Niron Magnetics chief executive Andy Blackburn said, “Our Clean Earth Magnet technology helps eliminate reliance on expensive, supply constrained, rare Earth-based magnets, without compromising on performance.

“Device designers and manufacturers take our technology and realise its impact. By working with GreenSpur, we have been able to demonstrate what can be achieved with our Generation 1 technology in wind applications, with innovative materials and innovative device design coming together to enable a potentially transformative solution for the offshore market.”

ORE Catapult director of technology development Tony Quinn said, “We have worked with GreenSpur Wind in support of their innovative and disruptive technology for several years.

“Although there was interest in a rare earth-free solution, there were concerns their generator would be too heavy. However, with Niron’s rare earth-free magnet, GreenSpur is able to show attractive mass and efficiency targets and a credible solution for consideration within a next-generation turbine.

“We are now helping GreenSpur and Niron to present this opportunity to OEMs, developers, and strategic investors. The aim is to create an industry consortium with the right combination of players to bring this offering to market.” Work to form the consortium is underway.

Current-generation direct-drive generators used in today’s offshore wind turbines rely on rare-earth magnets. Not only is the supply of these dominated by China but there is also competition for magnet supply from other fast-growing industries.

Mr Hine said in his view, the risk the rare earth magnet supply chain poses to the offshore wind sector ‘is existential.’ “Now, for the first time, we have a path that takes this risk out of the equation,” he concluded.

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