BLEEPID Workshop 21/05/2026 | Leading Edge Erosion (LEE) in offshore wind

Discover how advanced inspection, modelling and protection technologies help reduce blade damage, maintenance costs and energy losses in offshore wind.

How to reduce wear and maintenance costs in offshore wind

Offshore wind turbine blades are constantly exposed to rain, salt and harsh weather conditions, causing erosion on the leading edge of the blades. This damage reduces energy production and increases maintenance costs.

Discover how drone inspections, image analysis and predictive modelling help detect erosion earlier, optimise maintenance and improve offshore wind turbine reliability. Through concrete cases and project results from the BLEEPID project, experts from industry and research share the latest developments in blade protection and inspection technologies.

For whom?

This workshop targets professionals active in offshore wind and technological innovation:

• Researchers in offshore wind, materials, inspection and modelling

• Wind farm developers and operators

• Maintenance and inspection companies, including drone providers

• Policy makers and energy transition stakeholders

• Companies active in blade protection, coatings and asset management

  
  

Key takeaways

This afternoon session combines strong technical content with open discussion and networking.

You gain:

• A clear overview of LEE and its impact on O&M costs, energy production and levelized cost

• Insights into state-of-the-art drone inspection and image analysis

• Explanation of experimental erosion testing and microscale modelling

• Concrete applications and cases

• Opportunities for interaction and future collaboration

Programme

Time	Subject	Speakers
12:00 - 13:00	Registration & lunch
13:00 - 13:10	Introduction
13:10 - 13:30	Problem statement	Nicolas Quiévy -  Engie
13:30 - 13:45	WP2 – Damage assessment @ real scale	Jonathan Sterckx - UGent
13:45 - 14:05	Data-driven wind turbine inspections with drones and intelligent analysis	Jean-Louis Weemaes- Skyebase
14:05 - 14:20	WP3 – Damage reproduction @ lab scale	Jean Carlos Poletto - UGent
14:20 - 14:40	Leading Edge Protection in a Changing Climate	Marc Foldager - Polytech
14:40 - 15:00	Coffee break
15:00 - 15:15	WP4 – Erosion modelling @ microscale	Vinayak Ramachandran Nambiar & Alireza Shadmani- UGent
15:15 - 15:30	PROWESS – Precipitation impact on LEE and impact of LEE on O&M and AEP	Peter Eecen - TNO
15:30 - 15:45	WP5 – Cost and emissions modeling	Bert Conings  - Sirris
15:45 - 16:05	CETP PROTECT – Development of a Leading Edge Analysis Tool to optimise wind farm operations	Peter Eecen - TNO
16:05 - 16:25	Panel discussion
16:25 - 16:30	Concluding remarks
16:30 - 17:00	Networking reception

Practical

Date: 21 May 2026 | 12.00 - 17.00

Location: Sirris Leuven, Gaston Geenslaan 8, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium

Price: Free, registration is required

Language: English

Register for the BLEEPID Workshop here

Partners

In collaboration with

BLEEPID | Towards improved reliability and reduced costs of offshore wind by blade-leading-edge erosion prediction and drone-based inspection

This event is the closing event of the BLEEPID project, showcasing the key results and insights developed to improve offshore wind blade reliability through erosion prediction and drone-based inspection.