Hexcel introduced prepregs to the wind turbine industry over 15 years ago.  Composites have enabled blade sizes to grow to today's giant proportions, making wind power the world's fastest growing energy source.

We work closely with our customers to develop products that are tailored to their specific requirements.  This approach has enabled us to develop prepregs that cure faster, at lower temperatures; to develop new fiber-reinforced matrix solutions for rapid cost-effective processing; to develop paste adhesives for bonding shells; and gel coats that provide a hard-wearing finish.

Hexcel is one of the few composite suppliers that manufactures carbon fiber in-house.  This, combined with our dedicated weaving facilities, enables us to design composite reinforcements in glass and carbon - and hybrids of the two.  We are the composite specialists, with dedicated R&T facilites in Europe and the USA.  Our global technical support team will assist with materials selection, processing, and can provide training to those who are new to composites technology.

Hexcel products for wind energy include:

>  HexTow™ AS3C carbon fiber
>  HexFIT® film infusion materials
>  HexForce™ reinforcements
>  HexPly® prepregs

>  Pre-cured materials (glass grid laminates, carbon laminates) for infused blades

>  HexForce™ peel ply
>  HexWeb® honeycombs

Benefits of manufacturing wind blades in composites:

>  Optimized structural design
>  Consistent fiber volume ratios
>  Lower and consistent blade weight
>  Pure UD materials with optimized performance/cost ratio
>  High strength and fatigue properties 
>  Short total processing and cure cycle

>  Clean working environment
>  Low exotherm, enabling curing and co-curing of mulit-ply laminates, eg. carbon with glass
>  Minimized stresses caused by differences in thermal expansion