GE Renewable Energy, Fraunhofer IGCV, and voxeljet AG Plan to Develop World's Largest Sand Binder Jetting 3D Printer for Offshore Wind Turbines

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Sep 16, 2021

GE (NYSE: GE), Fraunhofer IGCV and voxeljet AG (NASDAQ: VJET) today announced a research partnership to develop the world’s largest 3D printer for offshore wind applications in order to streamline the production of key components of GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbine. The Advance Casting Cell (ACC) 3D printer under development will benefit from financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and will be capable of printing molds to cast components for the nacelle2 of the GE Haliade-X that can each weigh more than 60 metric tons, reducing the time it takes to produce this pattern and mold from ten weeks or more to just two weeks. In addition, the use of the 3D printer is expected to reduce the product’s carbon footprint by eliminating the need to transport the large parts from a central manufacturing location. The partners expect to launch the project during the third quarter of 2021 with initial printer trials starting during the first quarter of 2022.