RWE has achieved a milestone in offshore wind logistics with the successful completion of more than 80 cargo drone flights at its Nordsee Ost and Arkona wind farms in Germany.
The trials mark the first long-range autonomous and short-distance cargo drone operations in German offshore airspace, demonstrating how unmanned aircraft can deliver spare parts, tools and consumables safely and efficiently.
The project, conducted with Skyways, Skyports Drone Services and Ampelmann Operations, tested both autonomous long-distance flights and short-range transfers between service vessels and turbines.
Sven Utermohlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind, said: “As offshore wind scales so must our logistics at sea. Our trials showed that cargo drones can complement traditional logistics by unlocking uptime, improving safety, as well as cutting costs and emissions. Cargo drones could thus become an integrated part of operating and maintaining our global offshore wind fleet in future.”
Trials at Arkona included autonomous flights from Mukran Port on the island of Rügen to turbines more than 40 kilometres offshore, with drones carrying up to 10 kilogrammes of cargo in under 30 minutes, compared with more than an hour by boat.
Earlier flights in 2024 proved successful deliveries to the Arkona offshore substation, while separate trials at Nordsee Ost tested short-distance deliveries of payloads up to 30 kilogrammes between service vessels and turbines.
The short-range flights, supported by Ampelmann Operations, demonstrated time savings of up to 1.5 hours per turbine visit, alongside reduced fuel use and technician workload.
RWE said cargo drones could enhance safety by reducing manual handling and crane operations, while cutting vessel trips and emissions.
Now that technical feasibility is proven, the company plans to scale drone logistics across its global offshore fleet.