A giant crane hoists a 40-tonne chunk of turbine tower almost 60 metres in the air and then places it on top of a half-finished structure. What’s different about this project is that it isn’t made from the usual ingredient: steel.
Rather, start-up Modvion is building the tower out of wood, a material it says will reduce the carbon footprint by more than 90 per cent. This will be the world’s tallest turbine of timber when completed in the coming weeks, and then it will be sold to a utility supplying clean energy to local homes and factories.
Sweden has a rich heritage of using wood in everything from windmills to centuries-old churches, clogs, decorative Dala horses and even a skyscraper.
Modvion is drawing on that craftsmanship to disrupt a forecasted $40 billion tower industry, where the use of heavily polluting steel and cement hasn’t changed much in the past few decades, undermining the turbines’ environmental benefits.
“The world is facing a climate crisis, and we need to switch energy sources,” chief executive Otto Lundman said after watching the lift. “Wind power is one of the most efficient and attractive that we have. We increase that value further.”
While the blades and the machinery are industry standard equipment, the approach has attracted interest from some of Europe’s biggest energy companies. Vestas Wind Systems bought 15 per cent of the firm after seeing a smaller demonstration model, and Italy’s Enel Green Power reached a co-operation agreement.
Sweden’s Vattenfall is a partner, and Germany’s RWE signed a letter of intent in March to use Modvion’s wooden towers in future projects.
The planet’s original building material is making a comeback in the net-zero age, with timber high-rises, corporate campuses and Olympic Village housing all in the works. A 20-storey “plyscraper” opened in Skelleftea, Sweden, in 2021.
Even as the wind industry is suffering from cost increases, supply chain bottlenecks and financing problems due to higher interest rates, forecasts for growth are still huge as nations rush to meet ambitious plans for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Annual European onshore installations are predicted to surge by almost a quarter by 2030, according to BloombergNEF.
Wind additions will exceed 16 gigawatts for the first time this year, with Germany, France, Spain, Sweden and Finland propping up the estimate.
“We expect our collaboration to increase,” said Todd O’Neill, chief executive of Vestas Ventures. “Many of our customers have proactively inquired to learn how they can be a part of Modvion’s journey.”
That connection comes in handy. The generator on top of the timber tower will be a recycled Vestas V90 2-megawatt machine. The Danish wind giant also will supply blades to crown the structure, which will be 150 metres (492 feet) tall when finished.
Modvion’s project outside Skara, Sweden, is made from Finnish spruce that’s laminated for strength and protection against the elements and fire, and then curved into four pieces about 30 centimetres thick. The tower walls may get thinner in the future as Modvion refines the technology.
The modules are stacked on lorries at a factory in Gothenburg and then glued together on site.
The assembly process saves on future maintenance costs since the typical steel tower contains as many as 50,000 bolts requiring manual checks by workers. Modvion’s towers can be inspected by sending up a drone instead.
Yet it’s the numbers surrounding carbon dioxide emissions – both in manufacturing and operation – that give wood a significant edge over steel.
Steelmaking is responsible for about 8 per cent of the energy industry’s CO2 emissions, and decarbonising will require trillions of dollars in investments. By comparison, wood is a carbon sink and renewable.
Parts of Modvion’s factory are automated, with robots sawing notches into the ends of the modules so they can be slotted together like a jigsaw puzzle. Still, there’s also some old style carpentry going on.
During a recent visit, workers used a measuring tape, nail gun and hand saw to get the pieces just right. To scale up in the future, even more of the work would probably need to be done with machines.
The laminated lumber is stronger than steel at the same weight, so wooden turbines can be taller and support bigger blades (generating more electricity) while needing less reinforcement (saving on building costs), the company says.
Lundman declined to say how much the machine with the timber tower will cost. A standard 2-megawatt turbine is about $2 million, said Leo Wang, a wind analyst at BloombergNEF.
Enel expects significant cost reductions from using wood once a supply chain and economies of scale have been established.
“We are currently monitoring their development so that we are ready to use the technology once it will be available for large-scale applications,’’ said Nicola Rossi, head of innovation at Enel Green Power.
“Wooden solutions are promising, but the long-term benefits of a full-scale adoption of wooden towers in a commercial wind farm are yet to be assessed.”
Modvion, which bills itself as a tech company focusing on engineered wood, is the brainchild of David Olivegren, 56, a carpenter, boat builder and architect.
He developed concepts for wooden masts and tubes during his studies, honed his skills while renovating old houses and even built a small wind turbine meant to charge a converted Renault car.
The start-up, founded in 2016, has received funding from the European Union and the Swedish Energy Agency. Earlier this year, 125 million Swedish kronor ($11 million) were raised through a convertible note issue.
A capital round of €20 million ($21 million), raised primarily through equity stakes, should close in the first quarter of 2024, according to the company.
That will helping financing a 150 metre tall tower, which will support a 6-megawatt machine ready to generate electricity in 2025.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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RESULTS
6pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $40,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: AF Alajaj, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
6.35pm: Race of Future – Handicap (TB) $80,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner: Global Storm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.10pm: UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Azure Coast, Antonio Fresu, Pavel Vashchenko
7.45pm: Business Bay Challenge – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Storm Damage, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
20.20pm: Curlin Stakes – Listed (TB) $100,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Appreciated, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill
8.55pm: Singspiel Stakes – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O'Meara
9.30pm: Al Shindagha Sprint – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Meraas, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Blonde
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
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Match info
What: Fifa Club World Cup play-off
Who: Al Ain v Team Wellington
Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
When: Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last 16, second leg
Liverpool (0) v Atletico Madrid (1)
Venue: Anfield
Kick-off: Thursday, March 12, midnight
Live: On beIN Sports HD
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
