Our university partnerships
The innovative collaboration with our strategic university partners has been developed over many years. They are key to Vestas’ technology leadership.
Technology leadership requires partnerships with world leading universities
Vestas works with selected world leading Strategic University Partners in our field, that can assist Vestas in our continued efforts of sustaining and further expanding our technology leadership.
When Vestas works with our Strategic University partners, we commit to a multiyear collaboration programme, that includes Vestas financed projects. We make sure we tap into selected University research and technology development in ways that can support our industrial goals and competitive position in the market.
“Vestas is determined to maintain our technology leadership by continuously providing the most innovative high-quality wind power solutions in the industry. Our strategic university partners play an important role to this end”
Kasper Roed Jensen, Vice president, New Concepts, Vestas R&D
Our approach
We learn together
Creating and capturing value from partnerships is a team sport, and we are on a learning journey together with our partners.
We recognise that capturing the value of our mutual partnerships requires persistency, transparency, and trust.
Mutual benefits
Our strategic partners support our technology leadership. For the synergy to grow, Vestas supports our strategic university partners through industry leading knowledge and project funding, so they can further enhance their world leading academic wind power position for mutual benefit.
Strategic University Partnerships
Area of Collaboration
Center for Wind Power Drives (CWD) is the leading University center in the world on wind power drives R&D. The partnership with CWD underlines Vestas’ ambition to partner with selected Strategic University Partners that has unique R&D capabilities as well as willingness to support our growth journey and drive our technology leadership forward
Center for Wind Drives is located at RWTH Aachen University in Germany. CWD manages and organizes the interdisciplinary research activities of RWTH Aachen University in the field of wind turbine drive systems. These wind drives research activities include basic research, premarket research, development as well as small & large-scale tests.
About the Partnership, Vestas
“Center for Wind Power Drives(CWD) at Aachen University has grown out of a strong Drives technology tradition from the German industrial Drive technology industry. This world-leading Drives knowledge is successfully being applied within wind power in a dedicated wind power drives center at Aachen University. Vestas Powertrain Module has worked for a number of years with the Center and we have grown a very close and by now Strategic R&D Partnership with CWD. We work with them, both through our R&D offices in Germany and our Danish R&D HQ”, says Roland Klinger, Module Owner Powertrain, Vestas R&D
About the Partnership, CWD
“We are proud to be chosen as Vestas’ Strategic University partner in wind drives R&D. Vestas is world leading wind turbine OEM with a clear ambition to stay ahead of the game on innovation and we are happy to collaborate with the company within drives to pursue this ambition together for our mutual benefit,” says Professor Georg Jacobs, Spokesman of the Board of Directors in Center for Wind Power Drives, RWTH Aachen University, Germany.
Area of collaboration
DTU Wind and Energy Systems is the leading University department on wind power R&D in the world with their unique competences within aerodynamics, noise, loads, control, wind resources and energy systems. Despite Denmark’s small size compared to other countries, DTU Wind and Energy Systems are the largest wind R&D department in the world counting around 400 R&D employees. It has co-existed and grown with the Danish wind industry since its birth in the late 1970ties.
DTU wind and energy systems’ research activities include basic research, premarket research, development as well as tests. DTU operates the Østerild and Høvsøre DK national wind turbine test stations.
About the Partnership, Vestas
“The partnership with DTU Wind and Energy Systems underlines Vestas’ ambition to partner with selected Strategic University Partners that has unique R&D capabilities as well as willingness to support our growth journey and drive our technology leadership forward. Vestas demonstrates and tests our newest commercial turbines at Østerild and Høvsøre in close collaboration with DTU. Furthermore, Vestas develops and tests new technologies in collaboration with DTU. We work with them through our Danish R&D HQ and our Blades R&D office in the UK”, says Kasper Roed Jensen, Vice President, New Concepts, Vestas R&D
About the Partnership, DTU
”I am proud of the trust that Vestas shows our researchers, engineers and technicians with this partnership. It builds on decades of collaboration between our organisations to advance the next generation of wind energy technologies through innovative design and state-of-the-art testing. We look forward to continuing to deliver high quality research and testing with Vestas to support Danish wind power globally,” says Morten Willaing Jeppesen, Head of Department at DTU Wind and Energy Systems Department, Technical University of Denmark
Area of collaboration
The National Composites Centre (NCC) is a world-leading research and development facility that provides access to state-of-the-art engineering capabilities and technologies. Part of the UK High Value Manufacturing Catapult and wholly owned by the University of Bristol, the NCC collaborates to address the most complex engineering challenges of our time, delivering pioneering innovation to drive industrial transformation.
The Bristol Composites Institute (BCI) is the largest composites-focused UK university centre with 200+ academic staff and postgraduate student members. The Institute is part of the University of Bristol and delivers sustainable composites solutions using fundamental and applied scientific excellence for the benefit of society and the global community.
About the Partnership, Vestas
“The Bristol University Composites Institute and National Composites Centre brings together excellence in research and collaboration with industry, making them ideal partners for companies like Vestas that depend on the newest composite material and manufacturing knowledge. BCI, NCC and Vestas have grown together and Vestas is excited to take the next step through a Strategic R&D Partnership. We look forward to working together through our UK and Danish R&D teams on the next generation of sustainable energy solutions” says Dr Adrian Gill, Blades Module Design Owner, Vestas R&D
About the Partnership, UoB & NCC
“We are delighted to be selected as a global technology partner of Vestas. The National Composites Centre is leading efforts to advance ‘green industry’ technologies, including for next generation wind applications. I look forward to continuing our work with Vestas to accelerate the path to net zero.” says Richard Oldfield, Chief Executive, National Composites Centre, UK
“The Bristol Composites Institute is honoured to have been confirmed as a partner by Vestas and elevated to Strategic status. This marks the continuation of a valued collaboration that began in the early 2000s. We look forward to working closely with Vestas on pioneering research and technological innovations that will advance the wind energy sector and contribute to a more sustainable future.” says Alberto Pirrera, Professor, Bristol Composites Institute, University of Bristol, UK
