Energy

Wind power, a growing world market

The wind power industry continues its growth, with 55 GW installed during the year 2016. This trend can be explained by two factors, environmental considerations and economics.

The COP21 agreements have created new growth opportunities for clean energy solutions such as wind power. China, India and the United States, among others, have increased their investments in this area; as a result, the global cumulative capacity is expected to reach 2000 GW in 2030, compared to 500 GW at the end of 2016. Concurrently, thanks to its sharply declining cost, wind energy is becoming a competitive alternative to fossil fuels.

Cost reduction, however, remains a challenge for this industry. The increase in turbine performance and the development of offshore technology (sea-based wind power) have contributed to reducing costs. These changes have created new structural constraints for wind turbine blades, which must withstand extreme weather conditions. The size of these blades is constantly increasing (now in excess of 80 meters) while an optimal weight/power ratio must be maintained.

To accompany the advances in this industry, which is constantly looking to optimize its materials and processes, Chomarat has developed new textile solutions for composites.

The work carried out in collaboration with Professors Stephen W. Tsai of Stanford University and Sung Ha of the University of Hanyang, have shown that blade design could be optimized in terms of weight, performance and cost, through the use of multiaxial reinforcements (NCF) based on fiberglass (G-PLY™) and/or carbon (C-PLY™).

Using the G-FLOW™ range of structural and vacuum-draw systems developed by Chomarat, results in shorter blade manufacturing time  while lowering cost by about 13% compared to an external flow medium.

The challenges of the oil and gas industry

Another alternative for meeting our energy needs is to drill deeper and deeper into the ocean floor to extract fossil fuels.

This requires designing new flexible tubing, capable of withstanding the high pressures and extreme conditions found inside a well at depths of 3000 meters. Chomarat is meeting these challenges by creating special reinforcements which combine technological know-how and high performance fibers (aramid, carbon, etc.).

Chomarat, a worldwide industrial presence

The implantation of Chomarat in Europe, Tunisia, China and the United States, guarantees our customers a competitive, high-quality global offer.

Industrial investments made in recent years, particularly in its production capabilities for multiaxial reinforcements, demonstrate Chomarat’s commitment in these high volume markets.