Vestas has spun out a new standalone company to commercialise robot blade maintenance technology developed in-house that’s claimed to operate far faster than manual methods.

BladeRobots will offer AI-assisted blade leading edge maintenance to the wider wind industry after being incubated within the turbine OEM giant, with its CEO named as current Ventus Wind Services chief Michael Thorup Svensson and chairman Johnny Thomsen, former co-CEO of the MHI Vestas offshore wind joint venture.

Vestas Ventures – the Danish group’s venture capital unit – will be majority shareholder, with compatriot Skagen Blade Technology joining as a co-investor with the aim to rapidly scale-up the system across the industry.

BladeRobots claimed its maintenance robots, which perform the necessary tasks on each blade before moving on to the next, can restore aerodynamic performance four times more rapidly than equivalent manual procedures, with the system’s AI learning capabilities able to adapt to all blade models.

Leading edge erosion and damage is a major cause of turbine underperformance in the wind industry, and Vestas claims the new spin out will allow it to rapidly take a stronger position in the fast-growing O&M market for the world’s fast-swelling wind fleet.

Thomsen said: “Wind energy will play an increasingly central role in the global energy system, and it is key that we deliver optimal efficiency throughout the operational life of wind turbines.”