Advancing Wind Energy
Huntsman products help make wind energy generation more efficient. It's just one part of the sustainable future we see. To explore our other sustainability efforts, check out our sustainability report: http://bit.ly/1j6bprc
Advancing wind energy
Thirty years ago a single wind turbine generated a half megawatt of electricity per year – enough to power approximately 500 homes. Today, wind turbines are being built that can potentially generate ten megawatts, or enough energy to power approximately 10,000 homes a year. This dramatic increase in generation capacity is made possible by lighter, stronger materials. Materials that Huntsman is at the forefront of innovation in creating.
The main difference between wind turbines then and now are the blades, which have grown to more than ten times in size. In order for blades to reach the sizes they are today, they need to be made of materials that are both strong and light. Huntsman’s JEFFAMINE® polyetheramines (PEA) help create the composite materials that are used in modern blades. With JEFFAMINE® PEA, epoxy resins can be formed into larger shapes, while maintaining strength and flexibility. Wind blades operate in some of the harshest climates on the planet, so they undergo a number of stresses. Because of the strength and flexibility of composite materials made with JEFFAMINE® PEA, microfractures that can form in stressed materials are avoided, helping create composite blades that outlast those made of steel or aluminum.
Huntsman Performance Products makes JEFFAMINE® PEA and supplies them to Huntsman’s Advanced Materials division to make Araldite® epoxy resin systems needed to make the rotor blades on the wind-turbine generators. Huntsman Performance Products also supplies JEFFAMINE® PEA to other epoxy resin formulators across the globe.
It is because of technologies, like JEFFAMINE® PEA and Araldite® epoxy resin, that energy generated from renewable sources can play a greater role globally. Huntsman is helping drive renewables forward.
Our chemistries’ unique properties, coupled with our commitment to provide customized, sustainable solutions to our customers makes Huntsman a partner of choice around the world. At Huntsman, we create innovative technologies and we believe that our responsibility to sustainability does not end when our products ship.
