Rothe Erde and Hawe Hydraulik sign cooperation agreement

Hamburg/Dortmund. Rothe Erde and HAWE Hydraulik SE have signed a cooperation agreement as part of WindEnergy Hamburg 2024. The cooperation focuses on the production and further development of Rothe Erde's Pitch Bearing Unit (PBU), with which the Dortmund-based company is launching a complete system solution for wind turbine construction on the market for the first time.

“The Pitch Bearing Unit aroused great interest at the world's leading trade fair WindEnergy Hamburg and was praised by numerous industry experts as a pioneering innovation,” explains Peter Küpper, Sales Manager at Rothe Erde. The PBU is a system solution mounted on a hub, in which the bearings and the components for adjusting the rotor blades, known as “pitching”, are already integrated. This means that different sized, conical extender rings can be mounted on a standardized hub with the PBU, which acts like an adapter: “We provide a complete solution that can also be used for different blade sizes thanks to the rings. As an integrated system, the Pitch Bearing Unit is a 'one-size-fits-all' solution, so to speak,” explains Peter Küpper.

The PBU creates clear advantages for wind turbine manufacturers: costs are significantly reduced thanks to the modularity, as a standardized hub can be used for numerous wind turbine sizes thanks to the different sized rings. The PBU also increases the rigidity of the system, making it possible to build larger hubs without having to include additional rigidity elements. The adapter function of the PBU also means that the performance of the system can be increased by using larger rotor blades without the hub component having to grow as well. “In addition to the cost benefits in the design, this also creates logistical advantages, as these central components can be transported without additional effort,” says Daniel Becker, Head of Bearing Calculation & Tools. “Today, special safety measures are required in this area for large components for heavy transportation, which in turn incurs additional costs.” He sees the Pitch Bearing Unit as an answer to the numerous challenges posed by ever larger wind turbines, especially as the PBU is offered as a complete package (“ready-to-run”) including delivery and assembly.

The bearings and the conical extender rings as well as the assembly services are provided by Rothe Erde. The company has teamed up with specialist HAWE for the sophisticated hydraulics: “We are delighted to have HAWE Hydraulik at our side as an experienced partner for the production and further development of our Pitch Bearing Unit. Together, we will continue to develop this innovation for the benefit of our customers. With this modular solution, we are further contributing to reducing the costs of wind energy and underpinning our commitment to the green transformation,” says Winfried Schulte, CEO of Rothe Erde.

“We are delighted to be working with Rothe Erde. Our hydraulic components make a decisive contribution to the functionality of the Pitch Bearing Unit and thus support sustainable energy generation,” says Andreas Nocker, Key Market Manager Renewable Energy at HAWE Hydraulik.