Irish Drone Uses Lasers to Clean Wind Turbines

Wind turbines lose serious power when dirt builds up on their blades, but an Irish startup just solved that problem with lasers and drones.

AeroBeam, founded by three physicists from Dublin City University, created a system that zaps grime off turbine blades using laser technology deployed by drones. The contamination problem is bigger than most people realize: dirty blades reduce efficiency by an average of 5%, and in extreme cases like insect swarms, energy output can drop 40% in just two weeks.

Traditional cleaning methods require specialist crews dangling from ropes for days while turbines sit idle. That means lost revenue, safety risks, and expensive labor costs. Many wind farms simply accept the energy loss rather than deal with the hassle of regular cleaning.

Dr. Séamus Cummins and his cofounders Rhys Doyle and Pierce Lonergan developed a smarter approach. Their drone scans turbine blades to identify exactly where contamination is stealing energy, then targets only those spots with a laser cleaning head. No water, no chemicals, no physical contact needed.

The system even uses laser spectroscopy to analyze what type of dirt it's dealing with and adjusts its approach accordingly. This precision means turbines stay online while getting cleaned, and the technology only treats areas that actually matter for performance.

The timing couldn't be better. Modern wind turbines keep getting taller and harder to clean manually, while Ireland has committed to generating 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Global wind power is forecast to become a major electricity source by 2050.

AeroBeam started with about €50,000 in funding from the European Space Agency and support from Ireland's Sustainable Energy Authority. The company already launched its first product: a ground-based imaging system that inspects spinning turbines from a distance. Their breakthrough laser cleaning system finishes testing next year and launches commercially in 2028.

The Ripple Effect

Every percentage point of efficiency matters in the race against climate change. AeroBeam's technology means existing wind farms can generate significantly more clean energy without building a single new turbine. The innovation also has potential beyond wind power, from detecting rust on bridges to cleaning buildings.

What began as PhD research that could have gathered dust on a shelf is now becoming a practical tool to squeeze more renewable energy from infrastructure we've already built. These three physicists turned their university research into real-world climate action, proving that sometimes the best solutions come from simply asking: isn't there a better way?