Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy Systems
The IWES and its clients benefit from the strong network of Fraunhofer Institutes and the expertise of specialized partners.
IWES is sustainably networked all around the globe
Fraunhofer IWES maintains great cooperations with international partners from industry and research. Within the strong network of Fraunhofer institutes, we and equally our clients benefit from the expertise of highly specialized players. Long-standing, successful cooperations in research alliance projects, networks, and standardization committees have created a sustainable network of relationships all around the globe.
Examples of strong cooperations include the content-related collaboration in the Fraunhofer Group for Energy Technologies and Climate Protection, the Fraunhofer Group MATERIALS, in the Fraunhofer Energy Alliance and the Fraunhofer Simulation Network as well as cooperations with individual institutes on specific issues. In addition, IWES is active within the EERA, ETIPWind, and EAWE as well as for IEC, ISOPE, and IEA matters. Furthermore, IWES is regularly represented at the major wind trade fairs and international specialist conferences around the world. In the field of hydrogen, IWES is an active member of different networks such as the German Hydrogen Association (DWV). It also maintains close cooperations with a wide range of universities and colleges.
Generating added value and value creation
Research cooperations are successful and sustainable if complementary competences generate added value and value creation for the parties involved. For example, we offer joint research services such as simulation studies. Through regular exchanges, we ensure that test programs and methods are tailored to the industry’s requirements. We have productive interfaces for identifying the needs of the industry and developing methods and solutions for both acutely pressing and future problems.
A board of trustees consisting of national and international companies and political players advises Fraunhofer IWES on its strategic orientation and positioning in the growth markets. In addition, IWES staff cooperate in the International Electrotechnical Commission’s (IEC) technical committees with manufacturers to develop the requirements for future standards.
Open for new projects and partnerships
Thanks to its original character as an industry institute for the wind market, IWES established connections to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) active all over the world, operators, and suppliers early on. With the expansion of its Hydrogen Labs, it is also driving forward the integration of hydrogen technologies into the energy and economic system at both a national and an international level as well as accelerating the production of green hydrogen.
As an institute of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, IWES benefits from the subsidiaries in Europe, North America, and South America. In Asia and the Middle East, Fraunhofer Representative Offices and Fraunhofer Senior Advisors form the bridge to the local markets. An office in Brussels acts as an interface between Fraunhofer and the institutions of the European Union, making it possible for IWES to guarantee customer proximity in key markets. Of course, it also has the necessary feel for the current situation and knowledge of the respective foreign market.
We are always open to new projects and partnerships in both a national and an international context. Please feel free to get in touch.
IWES’ scientific cooperations
European Energy Research Alliance - EERA
EERA is an alliance of leading organizations in the field of energy research with the objective of reducing CO2 emissions in Europe. To this end, EERA has created structures to strengthen, expand, and optimize wind energy research in Europe through the networking of excellent European institutions and the implementation of Pan-European research programs (EERA Joint Programmes). The top priority here is technology development for issues in the field of energy – up to a level of maturity at which it can be integrated into industry-related research activities.
European Technology and Innovation Platform on Wind Energy - ETIPWind
ETIPWind connects Europe’s wind energy community. The platform’s key stakeholders include the wind energy industry, political stakeholders, and research institutions. ETIPWind’s goal is to create a virtual and physical platform for the wind energy community, which will facilitate cooperation and offers the possibility of communicating and coordinating activities related to research, innovation, and technology.
European Academy of Wind Energy – EAWE
EAWE is a registered association bringing together research institutes and universities specializing in wind energy research from all across Europe. The association pursues the goal of establishing a globally leading academic and scientific community for precompetitive innovation and thus consolidating and further expanding Europe’s leading role. Prof. Joachim Peinke, an employee at Fraunhofer IWES, is a Chief Editor of EAWE’s journal Wind Energy Science.
International Electrotechnical Commission - IEC
IEC is the world’s leading organization for the definition of international standards for electrical and electrotechnical devices, and its scope also includes wind turbine technology. Its objective is to develop standards for wind turbine design, quality assurance, and certification. Fraunhofer IWES is represented by Dr. Arnoldus van Wingerde in the working groups IEC-61400-23, Part 23: Full-scale structural testing of rotor blades and Part 5: Wind Turbine Blades.
Research Alliance Wind Energy - FVWE
The Research Alliance Wind Energy, comprising the partners German Aerospace Center (DLR), ForWind – Center for Wind Energy Research, and Fraunhofer IWES, is tackling the challenges posed by the development of sustainable devices for extreme environmental and operating conditions. Founded in 2013, the alliance bundles the expertise of around 600 scientists and provides groundbreaking impetuses for the energy supply of the future. FVWE’s personnel strength and networking with industry, politics, and research enable it to work on long-term and strategically important large-scale projects successfully.
The cooperation between the three partners enables uncomplicated access to a globally unique infrastructure, ensures technology transfer from the aviation industry, and guarantees the link to university research and teaching. The broad base of expertise offers the German wind energy industry support in tapping synergies for large-scale projects and also asserting itself in international competition. For manufacturers, suppliers, and operators, FVWE is the ideal partner for technology development – from conception to product launch, from design using virtual methods to experimental testing and model validation right through to automation in production.
ForWind – Center for Wind Energy Research
ForWind is the joint Center for Wind Energy Research of the universities of Oldenburg, Hannover, and Bremen. It covers a broad spectrum of engineering and physical services in basic research in addition to providing scientific assistance for industrially oriented projects. ForWind organizes the qualification of specialists and managers and also hosts congresses and workshops.
HYPOS e. V.
HYPOS, founded in 2013, networks partners from a broad pool of expertise from business and science, in which regional potential, expertise, and experience come together. The initiative coordinates industrial companies from the fields of the energy economy, chemistry, and plant construction in association with small and medium-sized enterprises as well as universities and research institutions. The competencies of all relevant areas of industry and research are bundled in the HYPOS network.
BioEconomy Cluster
In the field of bioeconomy, the BioEconomy Cluster networks ideas and potential partners and initiates projects. BioEconomy provides information on funding programs and financing options, recommends partners with specific infrastructure, and advances project development and management. The registered association is represented in a wide range of committees, initiatives, and expert groups in addition to being an interface between science, business, and politics.
German Hydrogen Association - DWV
DWV has been campaigning for a sustainable hydrogen and fuel cell industry along with suitable economic and legal frameworks since 1996. The lobby’s focus is on reliable, cost-efficient, and emission-free mobility and energy supply as well as the communication of the system relevance of hydrogen and fuel cells in a sustainable energy economy.
WAB e. V.
Windindustrie- und Wasserstoffverband WAB e.V. is the contact partner for the German offshore wind industry and the onshore network in northwest Germany. The association founded in 2002 also promotes the production of green hydrogen from wind energy. Its around 250 members include smaller and larger companies as well as institutes from all areas of the wind industry, the maritime industry, the hydrogen economy, and the research sector. Among other things, WAB stands for networking and events, international cooperation, representation of interests and trade fairs, press and publicity work, studies and project work, and the qualification of specialists and managers.
EUREC Agency
EUREC, the Association of European Renewable Energy Research Centers, represents European research centers active in the field of renewable energies. The association founded in 1991 promotes and supports the development of innovative technologies and human resources to enable a prompt transition to a sustainable energy system. EUREC’s members are prominent European companies and institutes active in the research and development of all renewable energy technologies such as wind, photovoltaics, geothermal, and biomass. Further focuses include energy efficiency, storage, distribution, and integration.
LENA
Landesenergieagentur Sachsen-Anhalt, or LENA for short, offers a full range of services in the areas of energy efficiency, energy saving, sustainable energy supply, and resource conservation for business, the public sector, and private consumers. LENA provides product- and supplier-neutral support in all areas of energy production, supply, and use – for example in the form of advice, information, motivation, communication, training, and networking. The agency founded in 2012 is accompanying the energy transition in Saxony-Anhalt, the transfer of expertise from other German federal states, and applied research and development.
U Bremen Research Alliance
The U Bremen Research Alliance stands for the close cooperation between an excellent research university and a large number of non-university research institutions. The University of Bremen and twelve federal and state financed non-university research institutes cooperate within the alliance. This includes research institutes of the four major German science organizations: the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Helmholtz Association, Leibniz Association, and Max Planck Society, as well as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. From deep sea to outer space: the cooperation extends over the four scientific high-profile areas “Marine, Polar, and Climate Research”, “Material Sciences and Production Engineering”, “Health Sciences”, and “Minds, Media, Machines”.
We will be happy to assist you with any questions you have concerning the planning, realization, and optimization of wind turbines or hydrogen production. Please feel free to get in touch!