London-based Werover is transforming wind energy maintenance with Windrover, its AI-powered acoustic monitoring system for turbine blades. The technology provides continuous real-time monitoring, giving operators instant insights to act on blade defects before they become costly failures.

Wind turbine blades are usually inspected just once a year using drones or rope-access teams, leaving long gaps when damages can go unnoticed. A defect that appears in November, for example, might not be discovered until the next May, by which time a £10,000 repair can escalate into a £50,000 structural issue. In the worst cases, delayed detection leads to full blade replacement exceeding £820,000 and over three months of lost generation, resulting in major financial and production losses for operators.

Werover has developed Windrover, a breakthrough plug-and-play system that attaches magnetically to turbine towers, just two to three metres above ground, continuously monitoring acoustic signals and identifying defects at an early stage with 92 percent accuracy.

The system identifies the damage category, size and type, with results delivered to operators through a dashboard and mobile app. This design allows continuous monitoring without stopping the turbine, helping operators act early, reduce repair costs and keep turbines generating for longer.

Balca Yılmaz, CEO of Werover, says: “Our technology provides operators with instant, reliable insights far beyond traditional inspections, helping them act early, minimise downtime and extend the life of their blades, and keep turbines generating power without costly interruptions.”

Building the right action plan for growth

Werover began working with Innovate UK Business Growth in August 2024. At that stage, its leadership had set clear growth goals -to scale to 1,000 installations by the end of 2025, secure funding to globally scale Windrover’s deployment and build stronger relationships with major asset owners.

Following a detailed needs assessment, Innovation and Growth Specialist, Nghia Tran, identified that achieving these goals would require direct introductions and stronger engagement with asset owners, particularly wind farm operators, to accelerate adoption. It was also clear that enhancing the product’s resilience for offshore conditions would be critical, including integrating satellite communication capabilities to ensure reliable performance in remote environments.

These priorities shaped the bespoke action plan that Nghia co-developed with Werover. Funding and finance came first, to deliver demonstrations that Windrover could expand globally, reaching its target of 1,000 installations at the end of 2025. Without this big milestone in its growth journey, the system could not move beyond smaller onshore pilots to the larger offshore installations that matter most to operators.

The second priority was building partnerships and validating the technology through research and development (R&D), making sure it could be tested in real-world conditions to give customers confidence. Finally, international growth was identified as the third priority, helping Werover win early adoption in fast-growing European wind energy markets and creating a strong foundation for future investment.

Funding and validation build market confidence

To help validate its technology, Nghia recommended that Werover apply for an Innovate UK Business Growth RTO (Research and Technology Organisation) / Catapult grant to work with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, which the company successfully secured. This enabled offshore testing of Windrover’s accuracy, resilience and adaptability, critical to proving its performance in the harshest environments and building confidence among operators.

At the same time, constructive reviews of grant applications helped strengthen bids for major European funding. Werover has been invited to submit a full proposal to the Eurogia2030 programme, which supports and promotes international partnerships developing innovative projects in low-carbon energy technologies.

Balca explains: “The guidance on funding opportunities, particularly for Eurogia and the RTO / Catapult scheme, has been invaluable in securing resources to scale our innovation. This support not only enhanced our product validation and resilience for offshore deployment but also enabled us to expand our market presence, attract new customers and create jobs.

“Overall, Innovate UK Business Growth has provided us with critical tools and networks that directly contributed to our growth trajectory.”

Partnerships and internationalisation drive adoption

With technical progress underway, the next priority was connecting with potential customers and partners in new markets. Nghia recommended that Werover build a profile on the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) – the world’s largest support network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions. The network helps UK businesses connect with commercial and R&D partners across the European Single Market.

Through this network, Innovate UK Business Growth helped raise Werover’s profile, promoting its solution in renewable energy catalogues, pitching sessions and partner searches.

Balca adds: “Working with Innovate UK Business Growth has been transformative for Werover. The tailored support has helped us refine our investment readiness, strengthen our partnerships and open doors to international opportunities. Through connections with ORE Catapult, EEN Germany and European partners, we were able to build a strong consortia and accelerate our developments and deployments both in offshore and onshore settings”

Werover has already secured £1.4 million seed funding from Qatar and Turkey and is now preparing to raise further investment in the UK over the next two years. The combination of technical validation, international exposure and credibility with partners has created a strong foundation for future growth.

Real-world impacts

Windrover has already been deployed in more than 600 onshore installations, achieving 92 percent accuracy and cutting blade-related costs by up to 50 percent. The company’s goal is to reach 1,000 active systems by the end of 2025 – a milestone that will further reduce turbine downtime and strengthen renewable energy productivity worldwide.

Since working with Innovate UK Business Growth, Werover has created two new jobs and generated £480,000 in turnover. It has also expanded to 20 paying customers across European and UK wind energy markets, including Turkey, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark and Scotland.

The international connections built through Innovate UK Business Growth support are now positioning Werover to achieve its target of 3000 offshore installations by 2028, while continuing to expand its onshore presence across Europe.

Working with Innovate UK Business Growth has been transformative for Werover. The tailored support has helped us refine our investment readiness, strengthen our partnerships and open doors to international opportunities.

– Balca Yılmaz, CEO of Werover