Feasibility Study for a Multi-MW Ferrite Based Permanent Magnet Generator for Wind Turbines

新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19，即2019冠状病毒病）表明，全球风电供应链很容易受到严重破坏。这与关键原材料的供应特别相关，例如用于多兆瓦风力涡轮机的稀土磁体。当前的危机凸显了英国发展自己的风能供应链和英国关键部件生产的必要性。此外，英国政府已经非常明确地表达了其低碳雄心。它计划到2030年部署40 GW的海上风电，到2050年实现零碳排放。由于新型冠状病毒引起的国际混乱，这些目标无疑变得更加难以实现。Time To Act Limited的全资子公司GreenSpur Wind发明了一种新型高度创新的永磁发电机（PMG）并获得专利，该发电机可以成为英国应对新型冠状病毒引起的问题的一部分。该公司的永磁体替代稀缺和昂贵的稀土磁铁（45英镑/公斤）的廉价和高度丰富的铁氧体磁铁（1英镑/公斤）。全球风力涡轮机市场需要大量的稀土磁体，这些磁体几乎完全来自中国（80%）。此外，预计从2020年代中期开始供应链短缺（Roskill）。GreenSpur的创新将使其英国的工程和制造合作伙伴能够帮助英国风电行业减少并很有可能消除其对风险和波动的全球供应链的高度暴露。GreenSpur的长期愿景是刺激英国风能供应链和制造网络的发展，以便在英国建造新的多兆瓦发电机，以满足该国未来的需求。该项目将建立在GreenSpur建造的三台成功机器的基础上，最近的一台250千瓦发电机在布莱斯的海上可再生能源弹射器（2019年8月）进行了测试。该测试证明了该公司的计算机模型的准确性，使其有信心用于设计不含稀土的多兆瓦发电机配置。该项目将专注于改进GreenSpur的建模工具，并为英国陆上风力涡轮机市场的多兆瓦发电机设计进行可行性研究。这将支持与潜在的共同开发合作伙伴进行商业对话，使GreenSpur能够在未来提交强有力的赠款申请，推动电力革命挑战资金呼吁。项目期间进行的市场分析活动将海上风电行业交易（OWSD）确定为关键的中长期驱动因素。OWSD是英国政府与海上风电行业之间的行业协议。它要求开发商到2030年在海上涡轮机中提供60%的英国含量。2020年10月，政府宣布计划到2030年再部署30 GW海上风电，相当于450亿英镑的资本支出。目前，涡轮机只能从3个主要的欧洲OEM购买。有效利用OWSD将使60%的新海上风力涡轮机用于不断增长的高价值英国风力供应链。这将相当于从2030年起每年为英国经济带来至少30亿英镑的GVA。该项目获得了影响力扩展资金，该资金将用于获得专家市场沟通咨询。这项额外工作的目标是围绕OWSD及其相关的英国供应链义务制定市场参与战略。将制定直接参与的战略：·海上风电开发商，是受OWSD影响最直接的组织。英国发电机组装合作伙伴，介绍开发GreenSpur改变游戏规则的发电机技术的商业案例，将OWSD的英国供应链义务作为关键的市场驱动力。·风力涡轮机原始设备制造商，以突出一个新的和创新的技术，将由一个可靠的和不断增长的英国供应链的支持，符合OWSD的目标。通过进行这项额外的工作，GreenSpur将降低其商业战略的风险，并显着提高其长期的成功机会。

Covid-19 has shown that global wind supply chains are vulnerable to significant disruption. This is particularly relevant to the supply of critical raw materials, such as rare-earth magnets, which are used in multi-MW wind turbines. The current crisis has highlighted the need for the UK to develop its own wind energy supply chain and UK-based key component production. In addition, the UK government has made its low carbon ambitions very clear. It plans to deploy 40GW of offshore wind by 2030 and to be carbon-zero by 2050\. These goals have certainly become much harder to achieve as a result of the international disruption caused by Covid-19\.GreenSpur Wind, a 100% subsidiary of Time To Act Limited, has invented and patented a new and highly innovative Permanent Magnet Generator (PMG), which can form part of the UK's response to the problems caused by Covid-19\. The Company's PMG substitutes scarce and expensive rare earth magnets (£45/kg) for cheap and highly abundant ferrite magnets (£1/kg). The global wind turbine market requires large rare-earth magnet volumes, which are sourced almost exclusively from China (\>80%). In addition, supply chain shortages are forecast from the mid-2020s onwards (Roskill). GreenSpur's innovation will enable its UK based engineering and manufacturing partners to help the UK wind sector reduce and very possibly eliminate it heightened exposure to a risky and volatile global supply chain.GreenSpur's long-term vision is to stimulate the development of the UK's wind energy supply chain and manufacturing network so that new multi-MW generators can be built in the UK to meet the country's future needs. This project will build on the three successful machines built by GreenSpur, with the most recent a 250kW generator tested at the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult in Blyth (August 2019). This testing proved the accuracy of the Company's computer models, giving strong confidence they can be used to design, rare-earth free, multi-MW generator configurations.This project will focus on improving GreenSpur's modelling tools and feed into a feasibility study for the design of a multi-MW generator for the UK onshore wind turbine market. This will support commercial conversations with potential co-development partners enabling GreenSpur to submit a strong grant application into the future Driving the Electric Revolution challenge funding call.Market analysis activities undertaken during the project identified the Offshore Wind Sector Deal (OWSD) as a key medium to long term driver. The OWSD is a Sector Deal between the UK Government and the offshore wind industry. It requires developers to deliver 60% UK content in offshore turbines by 2030. In October 2020, the Government announced that it intends to deploy an additional 30GW of offshore wind by 2030, which equates to a CAPEX value of £45bn. At present turbines can only be purchased from 3 major European OEMs. Leveraging the OWSD effectively would see 60% of new offshore wind turbines spent within a growing and high-value UK wind supply chain. This would equate to at least £3bn GVA per annum to the UK economy from 2030 onwards.The project was awarded Extension for Impact funding, which will be used to secure expert market communications consultancy. The objective of this additional work will be to develop market engagement strategies based around the OWSD and its related UK supply chain obligations. Strategies will be developed to engage directly with:• Offshore wind developers, being the organisations most directly impacted by the OWSD.• UK generator assembly partners, to present the business case to develop GreenSpur’s game-changing generator technology, using the OWSD’s UK supply chain obligations as a key market driver.• Wind turbine OEMs, to highlight the development of a new and innovative technology that will be supported by a credible and growing UK supply chain, in compliance with OWSD objectives.By conducting this additional work, GreenSpur will de-risk its commercial strategy and significantly improve its long-term chances of success.