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R&D

Technology: a corporate value

Research, Development and Innovation (R&D&i) is part and parcel of our products and processes in all of the activities and functions along the supply chain, thus contributing to client satisfaction and in keeping with Gamesa’s continuous improvement in its quest for excellence.

The Corporation’s R&D&I programs are a response to European energy policy, as clearly shown by the backing of the European Investment Bank (EIB). For the second time in a row, EIB granted the company a €200 million loan in December 2008 to fund its Research, Development and Innovation plan between 2008 and 2011. Technological advances in the field of energy are paramount in order to reach the European targets set to combat climate change, secure energy supplies and ensure competitiveness of European companies. These targets were set in the EU Parliament on December 17, 2008 and named “triple 20 for 2020” (20% reduction in emissions, 20% of the EU’s energy mix from renewables and 20% reduction in energy consumption).

Gamesa collaborates in technological alignment with the wind sector. The following R&D projects benefiting from institutional finance are worth special mention:

Windlider 2015: the Corporation leads a consortium that has a grant from the Spanish program CENIT. The project aims to lead the design of large wind turbines (multi-megawatt).
Upwind: the Corporation participates in this European project that researches the next generation of wind energy and the design of very large wind turbines (8-10MW), both onshore and offshore.
Reliawind: Gamesa leads this European project with the aim to study reliability in-depth across the design, operation and maintenance of wind turbines.

The technology strategy is set forth on a multi-year basis that is deployed through annual R&D plans. For the next several years, the technology strategy for the company in R&D&I activities are focused on the following aspects:

To contribute to the Company’s growth, we are working on the creation of a new product line, consolidation of the new MainStream segment and improvement in cost of energy;
To contribute to the profitability of working capital, we are focused on reliability and standardization; and
To contribute to financial strength, we aim to develop a network of Gamesa technology centers and ensure the optimum use of research assets.

In 2008, Gamesa spent €30,5 million on strictly R&D activities (capitalized development expenses, without including technological innovation).

Our R&D activities result in technological assets, which at the end of 2008 are:

Patent applications made during 2008: 28.
Total number of patents granted or applied for at the end of 2008: 118.

These 118 patent families translate into 269 individual patents in USA, China, Mexico, India, Korea, etc.

According to the 2008 EU R&D Investments Scoreboard, compiled and presented by the European Commission in December 2008, and based on data from 2007 close, Gamesa holds the 11th position in Spain and is ranked 348 out of 1000 European companies with the highest R&D investment. Gamesa also held the 27th position out of 65 companies in the “industrial machinery” sector. Source: Monitoring industrial research: the 2008 EU industrial R&D investment scoreboard.

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