Bladeless Wind Turbines: The Future of Clean Energy

Researchers from the University of Glasgow are actively exploring ways to boost the power of bladeless wind turbines (BWTs). For this, they provide insights derived from computer simulations¹ of these turbines, identifying the most efficient designs for future models.

The researchers said:

“The findings could help the renewables industry take BWTs, which are still at an early stage of research and development, from small-scale field experiments to practical forms of power generation for national electricity grids.” 

Bladeless wind turbines are a developing form of wind power generation method that is primarily being investigated by researchers. However, they are quickly capturing attention, with their market also growing just as rapidly.

In 2022, the global bladeless wind turbines market size was valued at about $60.5 billion and is projected to surpass $116 billion by 2030, driven by the rising demand for renewable energy across the globe.

Unlike regular wind turbines, bladeless wind turbines (BWTs) are quieter and take up less space. They also adapt faster to the changes in wind direction, making them very useful in urban settings with turbulent winds.

Another big advantage of BWTs is that they reduce environmental impact, especially concerning wildlife. For birds, turbines with blades increase the risk of collisions as fast-spinning blades in turbines can seem like a blur or be invisible altogether. Bladeless turbines move significantly less, allowing animals like birds to avoid them more easily. 

The low weight and lower center of gravity of BWTs, meanwhile, reduce the need for foundation, in turn, simplifying the installation of bladeless turbines.

The simpler design of these turbines also requires less maintenance than normal turbines, in turn, increasing their useful life.

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What Are Bladeless Wind Turbines and How Do They Work?

Derived from natural resources that replenish themselves, renewable energy is key to transitioning to less carbon-intensive and more sustainable energy systems.

Renewable energy sources include wind, sunlight, rain, waves, tides, thermal energy, and biomass. These resources are critical not only to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels but also to mitigating climate change. 

Among renewable energy sources, wind energy is a rapidly growing source. In 2024, renewables and nuclear together provided nearly 41% of the world’s electricity generation. Among renewables, solar had the largest contribution, followed by wind generation, which grew to 8.1% of global electricity.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar PV and wind are forecasted to account for 95% of all renewable capacity additions through 2030.

To harness wind energy, wind turbines are typically used, which convert the wind’s mechanical energy into electrical power. However, an alternative way to utilize wind energy is through energy-harvesting designs based on the aeroelastic vibration of flexible structures. 

Over the last couple of decades, aeroelastic energy harvesting has been gaining a lot of traction with a particular focus on vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of bluff bodies that are cylindrical in shape. VIV tech has captured substantial interest, leading to various numerical modeling and experimental research.

Vortex-induced vibration is driven by the alternate shedding of vortices from either side of bluff bodies. This leads to regular lift and drag forces as well as large cross-flow oscillations in structures. 

When the frequency of vortex shedding matches the natural frequency of the structure, it leads to unstable motion and oscillations of very large amplitude. This behavior is well-known as the lock-in phenomenon.

An innovative concept to harness wind energy by taking advantage of structures’ high-amplitude oscillations in the presence of VIV and lock-in is bladeless wind turbines (BWT).

A BWT effectively behaves as a bluff body that’s placed in a fluid flow that creates vortices by initiating flow separation from its surface. This way, BWT showcases huge potential for power output within a specific range of wind speeds. As such, designing bladeless turbines with stronger oscillation magnitude can boost their power output as well as the range of operational wind speed simultaneously.

Given BWTs’ potential in extracting renewable energy, efforts to harness VIV for electricity generation are being made on small power output scales, from 1 to 100 W.

Studies have also been conducted to evaluate the relationship between the power output of BWT and design variables like mast length, weight, and wind speed. Moreover, research is exploring BWTs’ operational wind speed range through a tuning system. But we have yet to gain clarity about the efficiency of bladeless wind turbines.

Since wind is not a finite resource, it is important to determine if maximum efficiency results in maximum BWT power output. 

However, it is not yet known if output power can be enhanced for constant input wind power. Also, there’s a scarcity of fluid-structure interaction modeling of bladeless wind turbines, which can be used easily to explore these turbines’ parameters and get answers on their efficiency. 

Hence, the latest study by University of Glasgow researchers aims to help accelerate ongoing initiatives in scaling up existing BWT models, which are currently small-scale, for larger-scale applications on offshore sites. 

This research addresses questions about bladeless wind turbines’ efficiency and power output by developing a simple numerical model to examine the physical mechanism of VIVs due to BWTs. The researchers have provided a comprehensive analytical framework, which tackles the critical challenge of optimizing BWTs for maximum power extraction while maintaining structural integrity. 

Can Bladeless Wind Turbines Compete With Traditional Ones?

Conventional wind turbines with blades have been a popular way of converting wind into electricity for a long time now. These turbines directly convert the kinetic energy of wind into rotational blade motion, which then powers a generator to produce electricity.

Bladeless wind turbines, or BWTs, work on a different principle than blade turbines. The core principle here is VIV, and instead of blades, these turbines use tall, slender, cylindrical masts that vibrate or sway in the breeze. 

In order to build bladeless wind turbines (BWTs) for maximum efficiency, the team of researchers from the University of Glasgow ran simulations of BWT designs in the range of thousands.

This allowed them to find the most optimal point that maximizes power generation without negatively affecting the strength of the structure. According to Dr. Wrik Mallik, of James Watt School of Engineering:

“What this study shows for the first time is that, counterintuitively, the structure with the highest efficiency for extracting energy is not in fact the structure which gives the highest power output. Instead, we have identified the ideal midpoint between the design variables to maximize the ability of BWTs to generate power while maintaining their structural strength.”

The findings of the study provide insight into just how the dimensions of the mast, including the width and height, influence not just the amount of power produced but also the structural integrity of these turbines.

This revealed a trade-off that wasn’t previously known, which is that while increasing the diameter of the mast enhances efficiency and power extraction both, peak efficiency of 6% and maximum power of 600 Watts are achieved through distinct geometric configurations. 

However, configurations that are optimized just for power output tend to surpass structural safety limits, while those that maximize efficiency provide suboptimal power generation. 

So, the ideal design is a 31.4-inch or 80-centimeter mast with a diameter of 25.4 inches or 65 centimeters, as per the study findings published in Renewable Energy.

Such an optimal balance of power sturdiness is capable of safely delivering an impressive 460 watts of power, a performance better than the current real-world prototypes that max out at around 100 watts. 

“In the future, BWTs could play an invaluable role in generating wind power in urban environments, where conventional wind turbines are less useful.”

– Dr. Malik

The study findings can play an important role in ensuring the safety of the structure in winds in the range of 20 to 70 miles per hour (mph). According to the researchers, their methodology could enable the scaling of bladeless wind turbines for generating 1,000 watts (1 kilowatt) or more.

With this research, the idea is to encourage the industry to develop new prototypes of bladeless wind turbines (BWTs) by clearly demonstrating the most efficient design for BWTs.

“Removing some of the guesswork involved in refining prototypes could help bring BWTs closer to becoming a more useful part of the world’s toolbox for achieving net-zero through renewables.” 

– Professor Sondipon Adhikari, James Watt School of Engineering

According to Adhikari, the engineers plan to continue refining their understanding of BWT design and how they can scale the technology to provide power across a wide range of applications.

They are also “keen” on exploring specially designed materials called metamaterials, which are finely-tuned to imbue them with properties that aren’t found in nature, in regards to how they can “boost BWTs’ effectiveness in the years to come.”

New Designs and Materials for Next-Gen BWTs

In another study², this one conducted by researchers from Alexandria University earlier this year, two new mechanisms were introduced to design BWTs to address operational limitations of bladeless wind turbines, which are created by the lock-in phenomenon, limiting them to a small range near the structural natural frequency. 

The mechanisms introduced were the tuning mass mechanism and the elastic tuning mechanism, enabling operation across a broad wind speed range from 2 to 10 m/s.

The study findings also reveal that utilizing the mast unit’s equivalent mass and polar mass moment of inertia at the free end of the cantilevered beam is important in designing the turbine and ensuring that it meets lock-in conditions.

The study’s goal is to maintain the ideal performance by controlling the natural frequency of the turbine through the implementation of the mechanisms.

A mathematical model was also built to adjust the natural frequency to match the shedding frequency at the specified wind speed. The model’s validation showed high accuracy. 

The first mechanism can achieve a 99.2% increase in mechanical efficiency at 7 m/s, but in order to get higher flexural or bending modulus values, the second mechanism must be incorporated to cut down the overall size of the turbine. The unified approach enhances efficiency by 55.7%.

Besides tuning mechanisms, choosing suitable materials for the flexible components of the turbine is critical, as per the study, to ensure adequate strength and performance, as they affect the structure’s overall stiffness. Thus, influencing the structure’s natural frequency, in turn, affects all BWT performance. 

The study reported carbon and glass fibers to be the best materials for fabricating the main components of BWTs.

The mechanical properties of composite materials, the study further noted, can be controlled by changing their fabrication parameters, such as the number of layers and their orientation, which allows for customizing the strength, stiffness, and other characteristics to meet specific requirements for different applications. 

While still in its very early stages of development and limited to experimental and laboratory settings, the technology has also begun to show signs of real-world application. 

Late last year, BMW Group began trials for the bladeless wind energy unit. The German carmaker installed the bladeless wind energy unit from Aeromine Technologies at its MINI manufacturing plant in Oxford.

This factory will act as a testing site for the technology, involving the evaluation of the unit’s potential in improving energy efficiency across the company’s sites around the globe and business complexes in the UK.

Aeromine’s wind energy unit is installed on a building’s edge, directed towards the wind. The unit’s vertical airfoils, which are like wings, create a vacuum effect, extracting air behind an internal propeller to generate clean and green electricity.

“Our ‘motionless’ wind energy technology is designed to work seamlessly alongside solar systems, maximising the renewable energy output from rooftops while helping address challenges like noise, vibrations, and wildlife impact. We’re excited to see how this initial installation can lead to broader applications across BMW’s global facilities.”

– Claus Lønborg, managing director at Aeromine Technologies.

Click here to learn about motionless wind energy 

Investing in Wind Energy

In the wind energy sector, General Electric (GE +3.99%) is one of the largest wind turbine manufacturers through its subsidiary GE Vernova (GEV -4.49%), a global energy company that designs, manufactures, and delivers technologies to create a sustainable electric power system. Its segments include Power, with a focus on hydro, gas, steam, and nuclear; Wind, involving onshore and offshore wind turbines and blades; and Electrification, covering power conversion, grid solutions, solar, and storage solutions.

The company has about 120 gigawatts (GW) of energy installed across its fleet of 57,000 wind turbines that are operating over 4 billion hours around the world.

GE Vernova (GEV -4.49%) 

With a market cap of $132.9 billion, GEV shares are currently trading at $486, up over 48% YTD. It has an EPS (TTM) of 6.94 and a P/E (TTM) of 70.18 while the dividend yield offered is 0.21%.

In April, the company reported its first quarter of 2025 financial results, which revealed revenue of $8 billion, a net income of $0.3 billion, and $1.2 billion of cash from operating activities. GE Vernova also reported an 8% increase in orders to $10.2 billion.

The cash balance at the end of the quarter was $8.1 billion. Meanwhile, $1.3 billion was returned to shareholders.

“We delivered strong results in the first quarter and our businesses continued to execute well. We grew our equipment and services backlog, meaningfully improved margins in each segment, and are returning a significant amount of capital to shareholders. I’m excited for what’s ahead as we are only at the beginning of the electricity investment supercycle.”

– CEO Scott Strazik

The wind business of GE Vernova, however, showed a mixed performance as it faces challenges in offshore wind while onshore wind activity records growth.

As a result, onshore delivery increased, supported by improved pricing, while its offshore operations experienced contraction. But while the wind segment remained loss-making, it is showing signs of improvement. 

GE Vernova’s wind business orders came in at $0.6 billion, while revenue recorded was $1.8 billion. The company also invested over $100 million during the period to boost the performance of its fleet.

Last month, GE Vernova announced that it is now leveraging the power of robotics and AI to inspect the quality of each blade it manufactures, as well as the quality of raw materials before modeling and assembly. In the long term, the AI-enabled quality capability is expected to enhance the lifetime of critical components and, consequently, the longevity of the turbines.

Latest GE Vernova (GEV) Stock News and Developments

Final Thoughts: Are Bladeless Wind Turbines the Future?

Conventional wind turbines are essential for the efficient capture of wind energy, but they have some serious, inherent drawbacks, such as high initial costs, noise pollution, regular maintenance, visual and environmental impacts, construction limitations in urban areas, and efficient operation only at high wind speeds.

All of these factors have driven the development of alternative technologies, with bladeless wind turbines (BWTs) representing an emerging and exciting new chapter in renewable energy technology. 

In BWTs, the movement of the wind generates vortices, making the whole structure oscillate, and when the swaying motion matches the natural vibration frequency of the structure, the movement amplifies dramatically. That enhanced motion or vibration is then converted into electricity. While powerful, the tech is still in the early stages of development. 

With researchers optimizing designs that can achieve higher outputs and greater structural integrity, BWTs can finally become valuable additions to energy portfolios. 

As the demand for clean energy continues to rise and ongoing research helps scale the innovation into commercially viable solutions, we’ll be able to accelerate our journey to a net-zero future.

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Studies Referenced:

1. Breen, J.; Mallik, W.; Adhikari, S. Performance Analysis and Geometric Optimization of Bladeless Wind Turbines Using Wake Oscillator Model. Renew. Energy 2025, 215, 123549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2025.123549

2. Mohamed, Z.; Soliman, M.; Feteha, M.; et al. A Novel Optimal Design Approach for Bladeless Wind Turbines Considering Mechanical Properties of Composite Materials Used. Sci. Rep. 2025, 15, 1355. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-82385-9