Commerical-grade carbon fiber supplier Zoltek Inc. (St. Louis, Mo.) has signed a long-term strategic supply agreement with wind turbine manufacturer DeWind Inc. and DeWind Ltd. (Luebeck, Germany), a subsidiary of Composite Technology Corp. (CTC, Irvine, Calif.). Under the agreement, Zoltek will be the exclusive supplier of carbon fiber and carbon fiber materials to DeWind for the production of rotor blades for its most advanced wind turbine systems. The sales volume of the deal has an anticipated value of more than $30 million (USD) for the first three years of the contract.
“The agreement with DeWind represents another strong vote of confidence by a leading-edge wind energy company in the expanded use of carbon fiber. DeWind has been particularly innovative in its design of a high carbon fiber content blade resulting in a very light and stiff rotor integrated with a novel generator concept,� said Zsolt Rumy, Zoltek’s chairman and CEO.
In February 2006, DeWind announced an agreement with NorthWinds Advisors for the sale of up to 250 of its D8.2 turbines representing 500 MW of capacity. Since then, the company has signed contracts in the U.S. that could result in construction and installation of as much as 1,600 MW of turbine capacity, deliverable over the next five years. DeWind says it will establish an assembly plant in the U.S. to support the work. For more information about Zoltek and its products, visit www.compositesworld.com/showroom/1118.
Strategic partnership to market multiaxials in wind power arena Devold AMT (Alesund, Norway, 1705) and METYX Composites (Istanbul, Turkey, 2363) in late June entered into a four-year strategic alliance aimed at increasing both companies’ penetration of the wind turbine market. The alliance will give each company access to the other’s best practices in lean manufacturing, quality systems and product development. In addition, the agreement will position both to capture new customers looking to integrate high-quality reinforcements into their composite manufacturing processes.
Under the agreement, Devold AMT will be METYX Composites’ strategic partner for wind blades. The latter will share with and complement Devold AMT where needed to bring more products and services to Devold AMT’s existing customers, while METYX Composites will benefit from Devold AMT’s large database and resources for high-end industrial applications.
The news followed an agreement earlier this year between Devold and PPG Industries (Pittsburgh, Pa., 1541) that created a 50/50 joint venture to manufacture glass fiber reinforcing fabrics for the North American wind market. The new company, called PPG-Devold, leverages PPG’s infrastructure and position in the U.S. market and Devold’s investment in stitched reinforcement technology and customer relationships. That JV includes construction of stitched reinforcement production lines at PPG’s wholly owned fiberglass plant in Shelby, N.C.