Denmark-based Vestas Wind Energy Systems, world’s largest supplier of new and renewable energy solutions is making Chennai its research and development hub.
Vestas, through its fully-owned subsidiary, Vestas Wind Technology India Pvt Ltd, already has a wind turbine manufacturing and R & D base here.
The company on Wednesday inagurated its new technology centre to house Vestas Technology R&D’s future activities.
The centre in Chennai would be the global base of the research and development activities of Vestas.
Already over 100 employees work at the Chennai centre making it the largest Vestas R & D facility outside Denmark. The company plans to increase the headcount to 500 in five years.
According to a company press release, “the centre will play a vital role in Vestas’ global long-term dedication to R & D in co-operation with Vestas Technology’s centres in Denmark, the UK, the US and Singapore”.
Vestas hopes to rope in the elite of the talent pool among Indian engineers, with the highest level of competence and experience, to further strengthen its R & D activities on a global scale.
According to Finn Strom Madsen, President of Vestas Technology R & D, “the primary objective behind all the R & D initiatives is to improve turbine reliability and lower the cost of energy.
The research that “we will undertake at our new centre in Chennai will contribute to R & D in almost all core wind technology areas. This will help us go a long way maximising the performance of our products”.