Autonomous heavy cargo drones airlift 143-pound loads to North Sea wind turbines

Image of one of Skyport Drone Service's delivery drones.Ørsted Ørsted reports that it has completed a new trial of a large cargo delivery drone at its North Sea Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm. According to the company, the trial was to test whether drones could be a viable way to replace routine sea vessel trips for maintenance operations and costs. The trial was run in conjunction with Skyports Drone Services (Skyports) using one of its large cargo drones. According to a press release, the Skyports team developed a novel load-collection method with automatic hook operation for the trial. Importantly, the drones were operated beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), meaning drone operators didn’t need to keep visual contact with the drones. In this case, the team demonstrated delivery across roughly 2.5 miles (4 km) of the wind farm without even seeing them. This, the team explained, reduced human involvement as much as possible by allowing the drone to pick up and drop off payloads all by itself. The trial ran for around four weeks and required collaboration from a diverse team of safety, aviation, drone operators, and other technicians. Ørsted used drones to do the dog work It also required close coordination with the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority. As for the kits, each weighed between 121 pounds (55 kg) and 143 pounds (65 kg) and contained tools, spare parts, and other materials for specific tasks. These packs were then delivered to different turbines before technicians arrived to carry out work. After completion, drones were then used to collect the used kits and return them to the Service Operations Vessel (SOV). Impressive, but what is the need? Well, traditionally, maintenance kits of this nature tend to be shipped to site. Once there, the kits need to be hoisted up to the wind turbine, which is both time-consuming and potentially dangerous. Drones, on the other hand, can deliver packages from point A (the SOV) to the work site (the top of the turbine, say) with relative ease. It also opens the door for the possibility of emergency part delivery on site with little to no delay. “The offshore environment is a challenging one – traditional turbine logistics, either through vessels or helicopters, involve time, coordination, varying levels of risk and cost. At Hornsea 2, we’ve shown the potential for cargo drones as a viable alternative that minimizes these factors,” Skyports Drone Services CEO Alex Brown said in a press release. Cheaper and safer than ships “These drones give wind farm operators like Ørsted a practical way to reduce lifting and vessel movements, get technicians working faster and maximize the time turbines spend generating,” he added. It is important to note that this isn’t the first time Ørsted has experimented with heavy-lift drones at its offshore wind farms. But this latest trial is the first to feature more automated cargo pickup and return, as well as proving its utility under real conditions. “This trial confirms our approach to integrating drone-enabled maintenance into our routine operations. By delivering parts and tools more efficiently and safely, we can improve turbine uptime and reduce emissions and operating costs,” Richard McCrilley, Project Lead at Ørsted, explained. “As we had a daily presence, we were able to cater for a variety of ad-hoc flight requests and get equipment sent out to support the teams. We were able to cover both planned and reactive works,” he added. Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Christopher graduated from Cardiff University in 2004 with a Masters Degree in Geology. Since then, he has worked exclusively within the Built Environment, Occupational Health and Safety and Environmental Consultancy industries. He is a qualified and accredited Energy Consultant, Green Deal Assessor and Practitioner member of IEMA. Chris’s main interests range from Science and Engineering, Military and Ancient History to Politics and Philosophy.