Swedish engineering company Modvion has been granted €6.5m in EU funding to support manufacturing of its wooden turbine towers.
The cash from the EIC Accelerator programme is made up of €2.4m in grants and €4.1m in capital investment guaranteed by the European Investment Bank.
Funding will be used to build a development factory in the Gothenburg area, which will make a 100-meter unit for Varberg Energi.
The company, which installed a first 30-metre unit on the island of Bjorko in April, has also signed declarations of intent with Rabbalshede Kraft for 10 towers, each at least 150 metres high.
“This support from the EU is clear proof of the enormous potential of wooden wind turbine towers and it will help us develop as a company at an even faster pace. We are now one step closer to being able to offer commercial, climate-neutral wind turbine towers,” said chief executive Otto Lundman.
“We are seeing an enormous demand for our wooden wind turbine towers. Laminated wood is stronger than steel at the same weight and by building modularly, wind turbines can be made both higher and cheaper.”