We need to transition to renewable energy. Not just renewable energy, but net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050*. To achieve that we need to stop burning fossil fuels and build massive amounts of renewable power.
The world is only just waking up to what this actually means. The major players in energy have targets to drastically reduce their footprint by around 50% before 2030. Policymakers are drafting policies with hefty tariffs to make non-sustainable materials even less attractive. All of this creates an urgency like we’ve never seen before to bring to market technology like ours. Modvion towers can help energy companies reduce their emissions by around 25% by using a renewable, local material like wood.
Modvion is accelerating the transition to renewable energy and materials by building wind turbine towers with laminated wood. We enable the wind power industry to build climate-neutral wind energy, lower total costs and facilitate transportation of tall towers. We are challenging the potential within wood. This precious material should be used strategically and replace concrete and steel whenever appropriate. It simply does the job better whilst lowering levels of CO2.
The past year has been pivotal for Modvion. In 2021 we applied for four patents bring our total to eight pending and one key patent approved; protecting our design to build modular, wooden towers in a cylindrical shape. Our fantastic team has grown to more than 30 people and counting. We’ve added an all-star advisory board providing us with expert insights within wind power, forestry, energy and exports.
Vestas, the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturer, chose to become a shareholder after evaluating our technology. It’s great to have this stamp of approval from the industry leader and we’re happy to support Vestas in reaching its ambitious sustainability targets. The investment became the starting point of the valuable collaboration we now have, both on the technology side as well as commercially. The European Commission, in the form of the EIC Fund, has also taken the step to become a shareholder as part of the €6.5 million in funding granted to us in 2020.
We’ve been pleasantly surprised at the amount of interest from future customers and suppliers. To be able to act on this interest our focus is to verify our technology and demonstrate it at a commercial scale. The work is already underway with Wind of Change, the first commercial wooden wind tower built for Varberg Energi. As the value chain in wind power is quite conservative, to bring disruptive technology like ours you need close collaborations with the key players. Modvion is already working with wind and energy giants like Vattenfall, Enel Green Power, Rabbalshede Kraft and more. All this places us perfectly to be able to scale production to meet demand and deliver on large orders.
It’s an exciting time to be part of Modvion and I hope you will join us on our journey. Wind power is the future and wood is the material.
Together we can prove it to the world.
*Source: European Commission