Advanced Material Development (AMD) and Gurit recently announced the securement of £392,605 funding from the Defense and Security Accelerator (DASA), under a competition for wind farm mitigation for radar systems which is funded through the BEIS Net Zero Innovation Portfolio and delivered by MOD.
The DASA funding will enable the development and testing of AMD’s unique graphene-based technology, which when integrated into a turbine’s blade structure, will reduce a wind farm’s interference with radar systems. The nanotechnology aims to enable additional functionality to be incorporated into wind farm structures, including embedded sensors that can monitor the turbine’s structural health, with the aim of increasing the sustainability and longevity of the blades.
AMD and Gurit will jointly develop the advanced composite materials, incorporating a novel low-cost, nano-scale Radar Absorbing Material (nRAM) at the manufacturing stage. Collaboration at the earliest stage will ensure that the RF absorption is integrated into the base materials, thereby reducing cost and minimizing impact on the manufacturing process.
The collaboration takes advantage of the manufacturing capability of Gurit, who deliver advanced composite solutions to the wind energy sector and other industries. AMD brings specialist knowledge as a leader in the field of cutting-edge Materials Science, innovating 2D nanomaterials and technologies.
The aim of the DASA competition, of which this project is part, is to enable the coexistence of future offshore wind farms alongside Air Traffic Control systems. Funded projects are tasked to develop their technologies that could reduce radar clutter caused by offshore wind farms and fill or remove gaps in radar coverage created by windfarms. The project is scheduled to run for 18 months, culminating in a demonstration to DASA and interested stakeholders.