Vestas Strategic University Partnership

Bristol Composites Institute (BCI) and NCC are one of Vestas’ three global Strategic University Partners, and the only one in the UK.

The Strategic University Partnership brings together the academic excellence of BCI, the cutting-edge capabilities of NCC, and Vestas’ technology leadership as a global pioneer in sustainable energy solutions to accelerate innovation in wind energy and composites technology.

Composites are a critical enabling material for modern wind turbines, providing the lightweight performance and structural capability required for large-scale blades. However, meeting the scale of demand needed to achieve net zero targets, while addressing sustainability and end-of-life challenges for composite structures, remains a significant research and innovation challenge.

The partnership will deliver a multiyear programme of funded projects, bringing together expert collaborative teams to address specific challenges in wind energy and the use of advanced composite materials in turbine blades.

Active projects:

BladeUp
UKRI Prosperity Partnership revolutionising wind turbine blade design with machine learning and advanced computational methods for efficient, scalable production.

Professor Alberto Pirrera
Sarah Hallworth (Project Manager)

[NCC] and Bristol Composites Institute bring together excellence in research and collaboration with industry, making them ideal partners for companies like Vestas that depend on the newest composite material and manufacturing knowledge. NCC, BCI and Vestas have grown together and Vestas is excited to take the next step through a Strategic R&D Partnership. We look forward to working together through our UK and Danish R&D teams on the next generation of sustainable energy solutions.

Kasper Roed Jensen, Vice president of New Concepts at Vestas R&D

The Bristol Composites Institute is honoured to have been confirmed as a partner by Vestas and elevated to Strategic status. This marks the continuation of a valued collaboration that began in the early 2000s. We look forward to working closely with Vestas on pioneering research and technological innovations that will advance the wind energy sector and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Alberto Pirrera, Professor of Nonlinear Structural Mechanics