European wind energy research projects celebrate the Global Wind Day

On the occasion of Global Wind Day, 15 June, four European projects supported by ICONS – DTWO, MERIDIONAL, SUDOCO and TAILWIND, are joining forces in a social media campaign to spotlight the role of wind energy in Europe’s clean energy transition.

The campaign builds on the latest findings from EMBER’s European Electricity Review 2026, which shows that 2025 marked a turning point for the EU power sector: for the first time on record, wind and solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels. Together, wind and solar produced around 30% of EU electricity, ahead of fossil power at 29%. Wind alone remained one of the pillars of Europe’s electricity system, contributing around 17% of total EU power generation. This milestone shows that wind energy is no longer a future promise. It is already a central part of Europe’s electricity mix, helping to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, improve energy security and support the transition towards a cleaner and more resilient power system.

At the same time, the figures highlight the scale of the challenge ahead. Ember reports that the share of EU electricity generated by wind and solar increased from around 20% in 2020 to 30% in 2025, while fossil power fell from roughly 37% to 29% over the same period. In 2025, wind and solar generated more electricity than all fossil sources in 14 of the 27 EU Member States, with the Netherlands and Croatia crossing this threshold for the first time.

The Global Wind Day campaign will show how European projects are contributing to the next phase of wind energy development: from advanced modelling and aerodynamic design to floating offshore wind technologies, sustainable anchoring systems, fibre ropes, airborne wind energy and new tools to support the sector.

Project contributions
DTWO contributes to the campaign by showing the use of digital twin technologies for offshore wind energy. The project is developing a digital twin platform to forecast offshore wind power production, supporting greater energy reliability and security. By integrating existing models, simulation assets and diverse data sources, DTWO enables more accurate and granular predictions for offshore wind farm operations. Its federated approach also allows users to benefit from advanced modelling while protecting sensitive data, as cybersecurity remains a core element of the platform.

MERIDIONAL contributes to the sector by developing a knowledge and toolchain ecosystem that supports modelling across different flow conditions. At its core, WindLab acts as a knowledge and data hub, while TopDesign builds and orchestrates the toolchain needed to translate this knowledge into practical aerodynamic design workflows. Stemming from MERIDIONAL research, the start-up Ventoplani is also exploring small-scale airborne wind energy systems for direct local use, combining novel windplane design with advanced flight control to harness higher-altitude winds.

SUDOCO addresses one of the key challenges of large-scale offshore wind: how to optimise wind farm performance while ensuring secure and resilient operations. The project is developing the Control Room of the Future, an open-source, AI-powered platform designed to maximise offshore wind farm performance through intelligent control, load mitigation and integrated cybersecurity. In doing so, SUDOCO supports the next generation of offshore wind farms, where advanced control systems will play a central role in improving efficiency, reliability and long-term sustainability.

TAILWIND focuses on advancing technologies for floating offshore wind, with particular attention to sustainability and environmental performance. It is developing sustainable-by-design anchors for floating offshore wind systems, recognising that different seabed conditions, from clay to sand, bring different technical and environmental challenges. TAILWIND also works on the characterisation of fibre ropes for floating offshore wind, while keeping environmental impacts in the picture.

Why Global Wind Day matters in 2026
Global Wind Day is an annual opportunity to celebrate wind energy and raise awareness of its benefits for people, economies and the planet. In 2026, the message is especially timely: Europe has reached a historic electricity milestone, but ongoing innovation is essential to maintain momentum.

Wind energy is already helping Europe move away from fossil fuels. The next step is to ensure that wind technologies can scale in ways that are affordable, environmentally responsible and adapted to Europe’s diverse geographies, from offshore environments and complex seabeds to high-altitude wind resources and advanced design needs.

Follow the campaign on social media starting from 15 June and join the conversation using #EUWindFuture and #GlobalWindDay.

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