Belting an innovation!

In a unique and patented construction, a technology company has developed belts that allow the rotor blades of wind turbine to be adjusted at any time without the aid of gears or hydraulics.

Technology company Continental is equipping the wind turbines made by Chinese manufacturer Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology with drive belts. In the unique and patented construction, the belts manufactured at the Dannenberg location in Germany allow the rotor blades to be adjusted at any time without the aid of gears or hydraulics. Continental engineers used an optimal combination of two tried-and-tested timing belt technologies to develop the belts. Back in 2018, Continental invested around €2 million in a new facility at the site in Lower Saxony to meet the Chinese company’s annual demand for over 100 kilometers of drive belts.

Goldwind is one of the few providers on the market to use a drive without a gearbox to adjust the blades, which is becoming vital to be able to respond flexibly to changing wind strengths. “Goldwind relies on timing belts,” says Rolf Marwede, who heads Continental’s location in Dannenberg. “There are some advantages to this. For instance, the system is less complex and therefore less prone to vibrations and disturbances at the top of the nacelle. Our belts are also extremely low-wear and durable.”