ACCIONA Energía, a leading renewable energies company, and the U.S. industrial software firm Sentient Science have reached an agreement with the common aim for the life extension of the entire fleet of wind turbines of ACCIONA and improving their efficiency.

The agreement, signed at the WindEnergy Hamburg fair, which was held in the German city, covers the possible use and validation by ACCIONA of Sentient's DigitalClone ® Live ® technology to anticipate possible failures in key components of wind turbines years before they occur, leading to operation and maintenance strategies that will lower the cost of energy for ACCIONA.

"We are very proud to be the first major European wind power operator to use the Sentient Science's reputed technology in our assets. This represents a big step forward in our Turbine for Life program to obtain the maximum performance from our turbines and be ever more competitive," said ACCIONA Energía CEO Rafael Mateo.

 "Digitalization of ACCIONA's fleet with DigitalClone ® Live will provide life extension and lower their cost of energy," said Ward Thomas, CEO & President of Sentient Science. "We are excited to be working with ACCIONA Energía and his team to achieve ACCIONA Energía's business goals to have 50-year life machines through life extension supply chain actions."

Innovative technology

The main feature of the DigitalClone ® Live simulation technology developed by Sentient Science, based on its research in the field of materials science, lies in its always on, smart testing technology. It is based on software that creates digital clones of each turbine model and is able to predict the risk of current and future failure of the main components and their expected working life, based on operational data provided by the wind power operator.

The document signed today is for a long-term collaboration following the phase I started Q4 2015.

ACCIONA Energía operates over 9,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power capacity owned by the company or installed for third parties.

The company is firmly committed to improving the efficiency of its turbines and extending their working life beyond the 20-25 years usually applied in the sector, under optimal conditions of safety and reliability. Both factors have a direct impact on the cost of the energy produced and, therefore, on the economic yield of the installations. To achieve this, good management of the assets and the O&M procedures is necessary, within a long-term vision. ACCIONA is currently involved in a process of digital conversion of a number of its management systems. The contract signed with Sentient Science makes complete sense within the framework of both strategies.

ACCIONA Energía | www.acciona-energia.com  

Sentient Science | www.SentientScience.com