Radia is building the world’s largest aircraft – the WindRunner™ – to meet the world’s largest challenge: climate change.

Partnering with Radia represents a major opportunity for the aerospace industry. Find us in Hall 4, Stand 41060, at Farnborough International Airshow and see how you can participate in an onshore wind energy market estimated at up to $10 trillion by 2050.

Onshore wind energy will enable the world to reach its 2050 climate targets

For the world to meet its growing need for low-cost clean energy at industrial scale and achieve its decarbonization targets, onshore wind energy must be a significant, increasingly large part of the electricity generation mix – as much as 20-41% by 2050 according to BloombergNEF and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

But there is a challenge. The most efficient and cost-effective wind turbines have enormous blades – some longer than a football field. That makes them extremely difficult – if not impossible – to deliver and deploy, because bridges, tunnels, and road curves literally get in the way.

WindRunner: Overcoming barriers to onshore wind energy

Radia will meet this challenge and overcome these barriers by designing, building and operating WindRunner, the world’s largest aircraft. WindRunner will fly over these roadblocks.

WindRunner is designed for its mission – to transport the largest wind turbine blades available today and the even larger ones planned for the future, what the company calls GigaWind, directly to wind farm sites.

The result will be widespread availability of consistent, low-cost clean energy for the grid, the production of green molecules including green hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and commercial power users such as hyperscalers and data centers.

WindRunner will help meet escalating demand for carbon-free electricity, drive growth in the wind energy market, which is estimated to be up to $10 trillion by 2050, create compelling business opportunities in renewables – including for Radia’s aerospace partners – and help the world meet its decarbonization goals.

Thanks to its cargo capacity and its short, semi-prepared runway capabilities, WindRunner will be able to deliver a significant number of the over 1 million new wind turbines needed to meet 2050 climate targets, triple the viable acreage for wind energy, and lower energy costs by up to 30 percent.

Aerial transportation of wind turbine blades will result in a net reduction in wind energy’s CO2e emissions compared to ground transportation. And WindRunner will be capable of operating on 100% SAF when it is available, further reducing its CO2e footprint.

Designed for purpose: do nothing new

WindRunner’s features support the mission. Its fuselage has been designed to accommodate extra-long payloads – such as wind turbine blades up to 105m in length – and it can land on semi-prepared runways as short as 1,800m – delivering blades directly to wind farm sites. Its ground-level loading and internal rail system provide for rapid cargo handling.

Radia is taking a systematic approach to WindRunner’s design to ensure that it is fit for purpose and to accelerate its entry into service. The aircraft’s design is deliberately conservative and does not break any new ground in aerospace engineering. It draws on the design DNA of established aircraft. The company is applying a minimum viable aircraft (MVA) design philosophy, making extensive use of existing components and already-certified systems in order to speed certification. The design is supported by 16 US patents and 86 international patents.

Innovation ecosystem and a leadership team

Radia has brought together an innovation ecosystem of energy and aerospace partners to develop WindRunner and drive onshore wind energy expansion. Radia’s leadership team is majority-focused on aviation. Team members have extensive experience with aerospace leaders including Boeing, Embraer, Collins Aerospace, and Scaled Composites.

An opportunity for aerospace

WindRunner represents a major opportunity for the aerospace industry. Radia’s aerospace partners will be part of the biggest thing in aviation. They will be able to diversify into energy – an industry that is less cyclical than civil aviation or defense – to capitalize on the up to $10 trillion wind energy market, and to have a decisive, lasting impact on climate change.

If you’d like to learn more about this unique aircraft and the compelling opportunity it creates for the aerospace industry, visit us in Hall 4, Stand 41060, or email [email protected].