Stuck in the middle with you

Purpose and goal

The project Stuck In the Middle With You (SIMWY) aims to further develop reliable processes for gluing joints between modules in Modvion´s wooden towers on site. Carrying out gluing processes on site is considered risky in the construction industry because it is difficult to guarantee the conditions required to achieve satisfactory quality. Currently, the tower erection takes several months as the processes for gluing require elaborate preparations. SIMWY must ensure that the processes become fast and reliable enough to enable large-scale commercialization.

Expected effects and result

To increase energy production and change to a more sustainable and circular energy system, the expansion and efficiency of renewable energy must increase. Today´s new wind turbine towers are often built with both steel and concrete, which accounts for a large part of CO2-emissions in Sweden. Here, Modvion sees wooden towers as one of the solutions to reducing wind power´s climate footprint. Projektet SIMWY will lead to more reliable and faster processes that work in a larger temperature window for on-site gluing of Modvion´s modules to wooden wind power towers.

Planned approach and implementation

The project takes its starting point in a requirement specification for the glue processes and will e.g. consider cost, time consumption, quality, weather and use of surfaces at the installation site. Solutions for adhesive processes and support systems will be developed based on the requirements. In parallel, an adhesive with promising properties for curing at low temperatures will be tested for certification where strength tests will be carried out to investigate specific issues. Finally, the results will be compiled into a plan for future implementation when erecting towers.