05.10.2023
International
At the end of August, Minister of Economics Habeck visited the only manufacturer left on the market that produces drive systems for wind turbines in Germany.
Flender equips every third turbine worldwide with one of its drive components. This decisive role in the transformation of the global energy supply was the reason for the Minister to accept the invitation extended at the Hanover Fair and come to Voerde.
On average, three to four wind gearboxes leave the factory every day for the onshore and offshore wind farms. In the case of the offshore giants, the gearboxes from Voerde currently reach power classes of up to ten megawatts, are several metres high and weigh up to one hundred tonnes. "I am learning a lot here. These technologies are the prerequisite for our goals in the energy turnaround and they are a masterpiece of engineering," said Habeck.
Wind energy was the focus, but Flender CEO Andreas Evertz felt it was important to give the minister and his team another message to take with them: without industrial production and raw material extraction, there can be no energy transition. Wind turbines need cement for the foundations, steel for the towers, composite materials for the rotor blades. These must be extracted and produced by traditional industries.