On 30 June 2023, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck visited three new research infrastructures for wind energy.
At Leibniz Universität Hannover, Robert Habeck and Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil inaugurated the new Large Wave Current Flume (GWK+). The facility, the only one of its kind in the world, was designed and expanded by the Universities of Hannover and Braunschweig to massively advance research on the energy transition. The technical upgrades make it possible to generate waves and currents simultaneously in order to investigate their influence on offshore foundations of wind turbines, among other things. The GWK+ is located at the Ludwig Franzius Institute of Hydraulic, Estuarine and Coastal Engineering.
At Fraunhofer IWES in Bremerhaven, the new rotor blade test stand for components with a length of more than 115 metres, the only one of its kind in the world, was opened by Robert Habeck and Bremen's mayor Andreas Bovenschulte. With the new rotor blade test stand, Fraunhofer IWES is expanding its test portfolio and adapting to the current requirements of manufacturers of components for wind turbines, thus ensuring shoulder-to-shoulder cooperation between applied research and industry. The test stand expands the impressive research possibilities in the Wind Energy Research Alliance, of which both Fraunhofer IWES and ForWind are members.
At the end of the day, Robert Habeck and Lower Saxony's Minister for Science and Culture Falko Mohrs visited the WiValdi Wind Energy Research Park, which is currently under construction in Krummendeich near the mouth of the Elbe. DLR, ForWind, and Fraunhofer developed the research park as part of the Wind Energy Research Alliance and will be use it for wind energy research as of this summer to provide new impetus for the energy supply of the future. WiValdi is also available to the broad scientific and business community for joint projects.