Turbine drive manufacturer Flender is to unveil its new HybridDrive concept at WindEnergy Hamburg later this month.
The medium-speed drive concept, which combines gearbox and generator in one product, has been consistently further developed for the requirements of offshore use.
The HybridDrive benefits in particular from the bundling of Flender’s Winergy engineering expertise for gearboxes, generators and clutches to form the entire drive system, according to the company.
In addition, thanks to the direct transmission-generator connection, the HybridDrive does not require maintenance for the non-existent spur gear and the high-speed bearings in the transmission and generator.
The omission of the spur gear stage also increases the efficiency of the transmission, Flender said.
The permanent magnet excitation of the generator eliminates the rotor losses. Both ensure that the energy output of the wind turbine is significantly increased, it added.
Martin Sasse, vice president sales for Flender’s Winergy brand, said: “Our goal is to make energy generation from wind even more efficient.
“Only in this way will the energy transition succeed.
“The potential is particularly great in the offshore sector. In order to reduce the LCoE (Levelized Cost of Energy), we have to reduce investment and operating costs while making the turbines more efficient in order to ensure more energy yield.
“All of this is possible with the HybridDrive.”