Wind turbine bearings test facility with Schaeffler and LORC

Schaeffler is cooperating with LORC (Lindø Offshore Renewables Center) and R&D Test Systems to build  the world’s most powerful test facility for wind turbine main bearings in Lindø, Denmark.

Schaeffler believes that the expansion of renewable energies is being driven to a great extent by wind turbines. Wind turbines are becoming larger and more powerful. The main shaft bearing system, as an integral part of the drive train, is of elementary importance, as this is where all the forces and torques exerted by the wind on the turbine add up. As a market leader and strategic development partner, Schaeffler is rising to the challenge and will contribute actively to the development of multi-megawatt wind turbines.

The investment for the new test facility for main shaft bearings is in the mid-double-digit millions and includes grants from the Danish GreenLab program. Concrete test programs should already be running by the end of 2025. LORC has partnered with R&D Test Systems, which is one of the leading suppliers of test benches for the wind industry, to build the new test facility. Schaeffler played a major part in defining the specifications of the test facility and will be the first customer to test its main shaft bearings for future generations of wind turbines in cooperation with OEMs.

“We are a key market and technology leader for bearing technologies in the wind power industry – says Michael Pausch, CTO Industrial Schaeffler -. With LORC, one of the most experienced operators of test facilities for wind turbine drivetrains, we have found a partner to help us further expand our know-how and our product performance. We now have the opportunity to shape the development of the next generations of wind turbines with suitable testing technology and method development”.

“We have been gaining valuable insights for the development of bearing solutions since 2011 with our large-size bearing test bench ‘Astraios,’ the world’s most powerful test bench at the time – adds Bernd Endres, vice president business unit wind, Schaeffler Industrial -. With the new test facility, we will now be able to advance into new and future dimensions and contribute to a more rapid development of reliable multimegawatt turbines“.

Schaeffler has been offering reliable bearing solutions for on- and offshore wind turbines for around 40 years. Rolling bearings from Schaeffler are found in every second to third wind turbine worldwide. The company takes a ‘closed loop engineering’ approach for its wind turbine bearings. Besides engaging in the pure development of bearing solutions, the Schaeffler experts also support turbine development with system simulations, testing, and field measurement campaigns.

The findings gained flow back into the further development of customers’ projects, design tools as well as the development of new bearing solutions. The experts from Schaeffler work closely with developers from OEMs to increase the reliability of wind turbines and make wind power more cost-effective. The new test bench will provide an important building block for the developments of the coming decades.

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