AI-Powered Cargo Drones Tested at Vattenfall’s German Offshore Wind Farms

February 25, 2025, by Adrijana Buljan

Offshore service provider Ampelmann, Dutch Applied Scientific Research Institute (TNO), and offshore wind developer Vattenfall recently tested AI-powered cargo drones at Vattenfall’s offshore wind farms DanTysk and Sandbank in the German North Sea.

The testing was done in connection with the AIRTuB-ROMI (Automated Inspection and Repair of wind Turbine Blades – Resident Offshore Monitoring & Inspection) project in the Netherlands, supported by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, that aims to develop automated and “resident” systems for monitoring and inspecting wind turbine blades.

As part of the project, the industry and academia partners will evaluate three different sensor technologies in turbine blades.

After the wind turbine blade sensors detect an anomaly and AI algorithms help determine the potential damage and its location, a drone-crawler is automatically deployed from its offshore docking station within the wind farm to perform a further inspection.

“After take-off of the drone, it will autonomously capture high-resolution images of the blades from different angles. The drone will then land on the blade to conduct an ultrasonic scan of the potentially damaged area, giving us complete information of the structural health of the blade. With this detailed information, the maintenance team can initiate repair planning as needed”, said Tomas Jansen, product manager O&M Automation for Vattenfall Offshore Wind in Germany.

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Cargo drones can transport materials and equipment from a service operation vessel (SOV) to wind turbines, reducing the need for vessels to go back and forth, Vattenfall pointed out in an article published on 24 February. The company also highlighted that uncrewed vessels and remote-controlled drones enhance employee safety during inspections at sea and ensure environmentally friendly operations.

“The innovation we showcased included using UAVs for rapid deliveries and pre-loading spare parts and tools to the turbine’s nacelle. This is especially beneficial when a part is needed unexpectedly, allowing the on-site team to work efficiently, without waiting for a ship, minimising downtime and revenue loss at wind turbine generators”, said Roddy Douglas, automation engineer at Vattenfall Offshore Wind in the UK, was involved in the test at DanRTysk and Sandbank offshore wind farms.

“For sites closer to the coast, cargo can be transported directly from the service center, where operators use automated drones to deliver essential cargo even in challenging weather conditions.”

According to Vattenfall, upcoming developments in AI are set to significantly improve the capabilities of drones in offshore wind operations. With more advanced AI algorithms, drones could become even more autonomous, capable of making independent decisions during complex inspections and early-stage damage detection without human intervention, the offshore wind developer says.

“AI-equipped drones have the potential to free up valuable offshore working time. Given the scarcity of skilled technicians in the offshore wind industry, this is an important advantage. The drones can, for example, perform recurring lightning protection tests on large wind farms, allowing technicians to focus on solving specific issues identified by the drones”, said Vattenfall’s Tomas Jansen.