Vestas Wind Systems
Modular turbine platforms—like bacterial enzyme clusters—enable Vestas to dominate wind energy through standardized components that mix, match, and evolve.
In 2012, Vestas made a bet that would reshape wind energy economics: modular platforms. The Danish manufacturer—now holding 30% market share outside China—designed turbine components like biological modules: nacelles dimensioned to match shipping containers, side compartments that snap together like LEGO bricks, reusable power electronics that transfer across turbine variants. The EnVentus platform, launched in 2019, shares the same modular nacelle architecture across the V162-7.2 MW and V172-7.2 MW models, enabling easy customization from standardized parts.
This mirrors how bacteria like Streptomyces organize antibiotic biosynthesis into modular gene clusters—discrete functional units that can be mixed, matched, and evolved independently. Vestas' V236-15.0 MW offshore turbine uses the same nacelle design framework as smaller onshore variants, just as Streptomyces can swap enzyme modules between different biosynthetic pathways to create new compounds. The payoff: 175+ GW installed across 88 countries, EUR 17.3 billion revenue in 2024 (up 12% from 2023), and a service business managing 57,000+ turbines with 12,000+ technicians. Modularity cuts logistics costs (fitting within tunnel heights and rail clearances), accelerates installation (shorter project timelines), and enables lifetime upgrades (swap modules without full replacement).
The 2025 outlook—EUR 18-20 billion revenue, 4-7% EBIT margin—reflects platform economics: the higher the volume across variants, the lower the unit cost. Vestas' order backlog hit EUR 68.4 billion in 2024, with 17 GW of new orders featuring high average selling prices from both onshore and offshore segments. The constraint isn't demand—global onshore wind is expected to grow 7-9% annually toward 2030. The constraint is whether competitors can replicate a decade of modular refinement. Platform architecture creates path dependence: once customers commit to a platform, switching costs multiply. Vestas didn't just build turbines—it built a module library that makes adaptation cheaper than starting over.