VirtuWind · Project

Smart Software-Controlled Networks That Cut Wind Farm Operating Costs

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Imagine the control network inside a wind farm works like an old telephone switchboard — every connection is hardwired, expensive to change, and needs a technician on-site. VirtuWind replaced that with something more like a smartphone app: the network becomes programmable, so you can reroute traffic, add new turbines, or fix problems remotely with a few clicks. They tested this in a real wind park using the same kind of technology that powers 5G mobile networks. The goal was to make wind farm networks cheaper to build and run while keeping them just as reliable.

By the numbers

consortium partners

countries involved

70%

industry partner ratio

project deliverables produced

industry partners in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Industrial control networks — especially in wind farms — rely on rigid, hardware-defined infrastructure that is expensive to install, costly to maintain, and slow to adapt when you need to add equipment or change configurations. Every network modification requires specialized technicians on-site, driving up operational costs and slowing down expansion plans.

The solution

What was built

The project built a working prototype of a software-defined, programmable industrial network and deployed it in a real wind park. They produced 20 deliverables including system-level integration specifications for SDN and NFV covering both single-site and multi-site operations.

Audience

Who needs this

Wind farm operators looking to reduce network infrastructure costsIndustrial plant managers with complex legacy control networksTelecom companies building 5G industrial connectivity servicesNetwork equipment vendors targeting industrial automation marketsEnergy companies managing distributed generation assets across multiple sites

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Wind Energy

enterprise

Target: Wind farm operators and developers

If you are a wind farm operator dealing with high costs for maintaining and upgrading your turbine control networks — this project developed a software-defined networking prototype, tested in a real wind park with 10 consortium partners, that makes your network programmable and remotely manageable. This means fewer on-site technician visits, faster service changes, and lower capital and operational expenditure on network infrastructure.

Industrial Automation

mid-size

Target: Manufacturing plants with complex control networks

If you are a factory operator dealing with rigid, expensive-to-modify industrial communication networks — this project developed SDN and NFV technology originally proven in wind parks that applies to any industrial control network. With 7 industry partners validating the approach, the solution lets you reconfigure network resources on demand without replacing hardware, cutting downtime during production line changes.

Telecommunications

enterprise

Target: Network equipment vendors and telecom operators

If you are a telecom provider or equipment vendor looking to serve industrial customers with guaranteed network performance — this project built an open, modular ecosystem for programmable networks as part of the 5G PPP programme. The prototype handles both intra-domain and inter-domain scenarios, giving you a validated reference architecture to offer industrial-grade connectivity services with bandwidth, delay, and redundancy guarantees.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would this cost to implement in our operations?

The project does not publish specific pricing. However, the core value proposition is reducing both capital expenditure and operational expenditure for industrial control networks by replacing dedicated hardware with software-controlled alternatives. Contact the coordinator for implementation cost estimates.

Can this work at industrial scale beyond a single wind park?

Yes. The prototype was designed for both intra-domain (single site) and inter-domain (across multiple sites) scenarios. The consortium explicitly states further applicability in other industrial domains beyond wind energy, suggesting the architecture scales across sectors.

What is the IP situation — can we license this technology?

The consortium of 10 partners across 5 countries includes Siemens as coordinator. The solution is built on open and modular principles. Licensing terms would need to be discussed directly with the consortium, as IP from EU-funded Innovation Actions is typically retained by the partners who generated it.

How reliable is this for mission-critical industrial networks?

The system was designed to provide guarantees about bandwidth, delay, jitter, packet loss, and redundancy — all critical parameters for industrial control networks. It was validated in a real wind park environment, which has strict uptime requirements.

Is this compatible with our existing network equipment?

The project built on open standards for SDN and NFV, aiming for an open solutions architecture. The system-level integration deliverable covers specifications for both intra-domain and inter-domain operations, suggesting interoperability was a design priority.

What is the timeline from evaluation to deployment?

The project ran from 2015 to 2018 and produced 20 deliverables including a deployed trial prototype. As a closed project, the technology is mature enough for pilot discussions. Implementation timelines would depend on your specific network environment.

Consortium

Who built it

The VirtuWind consortium is unusually industry-heavy at 70% (7 out of 10 partners), led by Siemens — one of the world's largest industrial technology companies. This signals strong commercial intent rather than pure research. The 5-country spread across Germany, Greece, Spain, Ireland, and the UK covers major European wind energy markets. With only 1 SME and 2 universities, the project was clearly driven by companies that build and operate the networks this technology replaces, making the results more likely to reach the market.

SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFTCoordinator · DE
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHENparticipant · DE
INTRACOM SINGLE MEMBER SA TELECOM SOLUTIONSparticipant · EL
IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNASparticipant · EL
NEC LABORATORIES EUROPE GMBHparticipant · DE
WORLDSENSING SLparticipant · ES
INTEL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IRELAND LIMITEDparticipant · IE
NEC EUROPE LTDparticipant · UK
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AGparticipant · DE
KING'S COLLEGE LONDONparticipant · UK

How to reach the team

Siemens AG (Germany) coordinated this project. SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction to the project team.

Order a report on this consortium See SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how VirtuWind's programmable network technology could reduce your industrial network costs? Contact SciTransfer for a tailored briefing and introduction to the research team.

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