MEMBER NEWS: RES acquires global blade inspection and condition monitoring company to bolster its Operations & Maintenance service offering

September 9, 2024
MEMBER NEWS: RES acquires global blade inspection and condition monitoring company to bolster its Operations & Maintenance service offering
  • Acquisition of Sulzer Schmid strengthens RES’ ability to enhance the performance of blade assets
  • Combination of drone and powerful analytics technology, together with RES’ engineering capabilities, will enable autonomous blade inspections to be carried out more quickly, safely and cost effectively
  • RES will continue to be a strategic partner of existing SSL customers and expand offerings to wind asset owners and operators with its comprehensive and continuously evolving O&M and digital solutions.

London, 2 September 2024 – RES, the world leading independent renewable energy company and services provider, today announces the acquisition of Sulzer Schmid (Sulzer & Schmid Laboratories AG).  The acquisition further strengthens RES’ breadth of digital solutions and services to meet growing demand from renewable energy asset owners for smart, data-driven operations and maintenance (O&M).

Sulzer Schmid, based in Switzerland, is a pioneer of autonomous drone inspections for the renewable energy sector and its AI-driven technology enables quicker, safer and more cost-effective blade inspections and repairs.

The company’s proprietary technology, 3DX™ Blade Platform, has transformed condition monitoring of wind turbine blades using autonomous drones, providing 100% coverage and high-quality inspection data, backed by a powerful and user-friendly SaaS platform.  It supports customers to build up lifetime records of wind turbine blades across entire fleets and portfolios.  Through comprehensive trend analysis and benchmarking over time, platform users can gain valuable fleet insights that can define blade repair work and schedule preventive measures, resulting in significant O&M cost savings and production gains.

The deal is the latest example of RES’ continued drive to combine its global O&M service expertise with growing digital solutions products to help optimise the value of its customers assets.

Established in 2016, Sulzer Schmid has conducted 100GW of inspections and serviced more than 50 GW of turbines.  The wind O&M market is expected to grow from $32.4bn in 2023 to $53.7bn in 2030[1], with larger turbines and more demanding weather conditions driving demand for more innovative approaches to blade maintenance.

Eduardo Medina, CEO RES, commented: “Digital innovations in the renewable energy industry are a key enabler of the global energy transition, helping scale infrastructure build-out quickly and efficiently, alongside maximising production from operating assets.   This strengthens RES’ position in the sector by integrating cutting-edge digital technology into our global O&M capabilities.  By providing our customers with Sulzer Schmid’s digital solutions we can reduce inspection time and costs whilst enhancing data accuracy, actionable insights and safety, making it a game-changer in the energy industry.”

Tom Sulzer, CEO Sulzer Schmid, added: “We are excited to join RES, a company that shares our dedication to digital innovation, and enhancing the performance and longevity of renewable energy assets.  Our customers can expect continued support and improved services, while our 3DX™ technology will play a key role in advancing RES’ digital solutions.  We look forward to this new chapter and contributing to RES’ successful O&M service strategy.”

Sulzer Schmid will start operating as RES from today with all employees and technologies transitioning to RES.  Its products such as 3DX™ Blade Platform and 3DX™ SmartPilot join RES’ growing suite of digital technologies, products and solutions.  Complementing RES’ existing digital strategy and investments it is making in revolutionising products and services to better serve its customers.

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