OUR APPROACH

The FOKUS:INNOVATION project emphasises innovation processes of regional companies and links them with the Technical State Museum of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (TLM MV).

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

The TLM MV presents historical innovations and pioneering achievements in the history of technology and industry at the phanTECHNIKUM in Wismar, focussing on Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. However, regional achievements are not limited to historical milestones. Even today, there are numerous companies, start-ups and initiatives based in MV that are actively shaping our future with innovative ideas. In order to increase their visibility, a variety of projection surfaces are necessary and possible.

As a third place, the museum reaches a heterogeneous society directly, sensitises people to regional and sustainable answers to global issues and transports this experience into the public's living rooms.

THE PROJECT

The FOKUS:INNOVATION exhibition project is a hybrid, modular exhibition system with constantly changing content, whose changing themes are presented in the form of cabinet exhibitions. The presentation space is the phanTECHNIKUM exhibition centre of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Technical State Museum.

The FOKUS:INNOVATION project was funded in 2024 as part of the ‘TRANSFORM_D - Social Cohesion’ funding programme of the German Foundation for Commitment and Volunteering.

OBJECTIVE

Controversial discourses on technical achievements are as old and legitimate as their use. As third places, museums in particular offer participation areas for a heterogeneous public with constantly changing demands. Empirical studies have shown that museums have a considerable influence on their audiences: museum content is no longer just passively consumed or uncritically accepted, but is rather processed in an active process in the museum and life experience of the audience.

For this reason, the Technical State Museum of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern aims to highlight and present current technical innovation processes in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the fields of business and industry, start-ups and business creation, science and research. By highlighting future utilisation horizons and areas of application for the corresponding innovations, we enter into an active exchange with our museum audience and, on the basis of facts and scientific data, promote objective debates about necessary changes as well as concrete and real-life incisions for each individual in connection with the major challenges of our time.

Everything revolves around regional responses to global issues relating to globalisation, demographic change, population growth, artificial intelligence, sustainability, climate change and climate impact adaptation. How do we want to live in the future? How do we want to work and live in the future? What will we pass on to future generations and how will the baton be passed on as part of the generational transition?

The FOKUS:INNOVATION project creates a link between the historical collection of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Museum of Technology and current technical achievements and innovative impulses and, as a place to raise awareness, offers opportunities to engage in an active and safe dialogue with developments.

By juxtaposing historical patent highlights and their developments with contemporary issues of global sustainability, this process is brought together in the museum in analogue and digital form and opened up to a wide audience. In the field of tension between greenwashing and greenbashing, the project counters populist trends and focuses on the challenges, processes and areas of application of the leaps in innovation.

During the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris on 12 December 2015, 197 countries agreed on a new global climate protection agreement. By October 2025, this agreement had already been ratified by 195 countries.

At further UN climate conferences, also known as COP meetings, the countries intensively discussed the promotion of renewable energies and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The core objective is to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 and simultaneously double energy efficiency. The COP meetings consistently emphasise the need to provide financial resources, especially to developing countries, in order to support the energy transition and mitigate the effects of climate change. COP28 in Dubai in 2023 also decided to move away from fossil fuels and called for action to combat methane emissions.

Despite the progress made, there are still major challenges in implementing the agreed targets. These include the need to increase investment in renewable energies and the transfer of knowledge and technology to improve the efficiency of technologies.

The GICON® Group is an innovative association of internationally active engineering service providers which, on the basis of interdisciplinary teams, both plan and advise in accordance with the current state of the art and also continue to develop this state of the art in a sustainable manner through research and development. The company's focus is on the areas of technology, sustainability and energy.

Großmann Ingenieur Consult GmbH, the first company in the group, was founded in 1994 by Prof. Jochen Großmann and has since grown rapidly to ten different companies. The group currently has 23 locations in Germany, five of which are in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and operates internationally in Germany, France, England and Malaysia.

GICON® is active in various fields, including 3D modelling of terrain profiles, geotechnical engineering and the reuse of post-mining landscapes, marine and environmental planning for onshore and offshore wind applications, flood and coastal protection, and the implementation of other innovations in the field of renewable energies, such as biogas plants.

The GICON® high-altitude wind tower is being built as a prototype for improved electricity yield. GICON® previously operated a 300-metre-high wind measurement mast at the same location to check how strong the wind blows there compared to lower levels. These measurements from the world's highest wind measurement mast were necessary because there was previously no scientific data on wind conditions at this altitude. The results show that the winds are significantly stronger and more consistent than at lower altitudes, even when there is calm near the ground. This demonstrated that the planned wind turbine can achieve more than twice the yield of conventional turbines. However, to leverage this potential, a tower is needed whose rotors can reach these winds.  

The 3.8 MW pilot plant is expected to generate 18,000,000 kilowatt hours per year. With an average annual electricity consumption of 3,000 kilowatt hours for a single-family home, this would be enough to supply around 6,000 private households. It can therefore be concluded that the GICON® high-altitude wind tower delivers yields comparable to an offshore plant under onshore operating conditions, but is more easily accessible for maintenance work.

The measurements also examined the extent to which bats are affected by the turbine. According to the studies, the animals are far less active at a height of 300 metres than at turbines that are around 150 metres high. This helps to avoid collisions.

The GICON® high-altitude wind tower is an innovative wind energy concept that, with a total height of around 365 metres, is set to usher in a new generation of wind turbines. In terms of height, the GICON® high-altitude wind tower project is second only to the Berlin TV tower in Germany. The tower is to be built in Lower Lusatia, more precisely in Klettwitz, where its height will enable it to generate significantly more wind energy than existing conventional turbines and allow for more efficient use of land.

The project is scheduled for implementation between 2024 and 2026 and is being funded by the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovations (SPRIND) in cooperation with beventum GmbH. SPRIND GmbH is an agency commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space to seek answers to the social, ecological and economic challenges of our time. Its core objective is to generate new breakthrough innovations from Germany. Breakthrough innovations are products, services or systems that noticeably and sustainably improve our social life.

In addition to the tower's imposing appearance, its construction concept is what makes it truly unique. Instead of a solid concrete casing, the prototype consists of a steel lattice. This construction method is already used in conventional electricity pylons.

The main challenge lies in the construction itself. On the one hand, the loads are greater than on lower structures, so the proven lattice mast structure must ensure greater stability. On the other hand, there are no cranes that can lift a turbine to a hub height of 300 metres.

To solve this problem, the GICON® high-altitude wind tower is equipped with a telescopic device that allows a turbine to be installed using conventional cranes. The upper part with the turbine is then pushed to its final height using the tower's own frame. This means that the high-altitude wind tower can be built and erected using conventional technology despite its enormous height. Conversely, the tower can also be lowered again, for example for later maintenance work.

The generator that the wheels will soon feed, on the other hand, is more of a standard product. With an output of 3.8 megawatts, it is small compared to today's systems. But that's not what matters. It's the height that makes the difference.

The hub height of the tower will be 300 metres, which should significantly increase wind speeds and thus energy yield.

The double level of the wind farm and the possibility of retrofitting existing turbines on different floors will allow efficient use of space, thereby avoiding additional land consumption.

The high-altitude wind tower is part of a more comprehensive concept that also integrates large-scale photovoltaic systems to enable more consistent and reliable power generation throughout the year. The aim is to create a GICON hybrid power plant.

The 3.8 MW pilot plant is expected to generate 18,000,000 kWh per year. With an average annual electricity consumption of 3,000 kWh for a single-family home, this could supply around 6,000 households with electricity. With a modern 7MW+x class wind turbine, the energy yield would be doubled again. This would then be enough to supply around 12,000 households.

As part of a partnership project with the Malaysian company Semarak RE, a similar hybrid power plant is being developed using a mix of renewable energy sources, including photovoltaics, wind and geothermal energy, with hydrogen and biogas production. The hybrid power plant is to be built on a 1,300-hectare site and is expected to generate its first green electricity in 2028, as well as producing sustainable fuels.

MILESTONES & SPRINTS

Based on the data collected by the high-altitude wind measurement mast, the project is guided by the latest report from Deutsche WindGuard, the most comprehensive service provider in the wind energy industry, offering around 60 services along the entire value chain of a wind energy project.

For this purpose, so-called production costs were determined in analogy to conventional wind turbines in order to establish comparability. Production costs are the total costs incurred for the manufacture, acquisition or production of a product or service. These include, among other things, acquisition and investment costs, manufacturing and production costs, operating and maintenance costs, raw material or fuel costs, and disposal costs.

According to the German WindGuard report, the production costs for normal-height turbines range from 6.10 to 11.80 ct/kWh. The report focuses in particular on the total height of the turbines and the suitability of the locations. For high-altitude wind towers, the costs range from 5.30 to 8.80 ct/kWh for moderate series production. Assuming larger quantities of towers, production costs of just under 4 ct/kWh are even possible, which could be a game changer in the energy sector.

The foundation stone for the tower in Klettwitz was laid on 19 September 2024. Originally planned for 2025, the facility will not go into operation until 2026 and will complement an existing wind farm. This is also one of the concerns of the engineers: high-altitude wind towers could introduce a kind of second floor to existing wind farms. This would allow weaker wind speeds lower down and stronger wind speeds higher up to be used equally. In addition, wind farm operators could avoid lengthy approval procedures.

The most challenging task is probably keeping to the schedule for transporting the large crane and the individual plant components. For example, a nacelle is being transported from Neunkirchen in Saarland to Klettwitz for the construction of the high-altitude wind tower. The rotor blades are being shipped from VENSYS Blattwerk in Spain to Wilhelmshaven and then transported by truck to the construction site. The large crane will be delivered from another construction site. Most of the steel components will have to be transported from the port of Hamburg. The route to the site has been chosen so as to bypass the village in order to avoid causing any additional inconvenience to residents. In addition, a traffic logistics concept is being implemented at the wind farm, which provides for one-way traffic to ensure smooth delivery and removal.

A total of more than 2,000 tonnes of material will be transported to the site. Conventional wind turbines require approximately 80-100 heavy goods vehicle transports. In the case of the high-altitude wind turbine tower, an additional 60-80 sea container transports are required due to the steel profiles needed.

EXHIBIT

Become an exhibitor at the TLM MV and use the phanTECHNIKUM as a space for your innovations! Our museum offers unique opportunities to discuss your products, technologies and ideas with a diverse and interested audience and to present your innovations. With a special focus on Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, we place historical pioneering achievements and modern accomplishments centre stage - and show how regional companies are actively shaping the future.

Become part of our project and get your innovations talked about!

CONTACT

Phone: +49 (0) 3841 3045717
Mail: direktion@phantechnikum.de