Modvion gets EU grant for 1st commercial wooden wind turbine tower

Sweden’s Modvion AB, which in April erected a pilot wooden tower for wind turbines outside of Gothenburg, has secured SEK 69 million (USD 7.4m/EUR 6.5m) in EU grants for its first commercial project.

The engineering and industrial design company said on Monday that the funding will come from the European Union’s (EU’s) EIC Accelerator programme that supports innovations. It will consist of SEK 26 million in grants and SEK 43 million in capital investment guaranteed by the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The fresh funds will be allocated for the construction of a full-scale commercial wooden wind turbine tower and a development facility in the Gothenburg area. This is the site, on Bjorko island, which became home of Modvion’s 30-metre high prototype tower that was built for the Swedish Wind Power Technology Centre and will be used for research purposes.

The first commercial tower will have a height of around 100 metres. It will be installed for Swedish utility Varberg Energi.

Modvion noted it has signed declarations of intent to build 10 towers of at least 150 metres each for wind power company Rabbalshede Kraft. The manufacturer noted that demand for wooden wind turbine towers is “enormous” as they are stronger and can be higher than steel ones and are built at a lower cost.

“This support from the EU is clear proof of the enormous potential of wooden wind turbine towers and it will help us develop as a company at an even faster pace,” said CEO Otto Lundman.

(SEK 1.0 = USD 0.107/EUR 0.095)

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