GICON’s 365-Metre Telescopic Turbine Targets Denser Wind Output Without New Land

German engineering company GICON has raised a pilot wind turbine to 365 metres — hub and blades — at a site in Schipkau, Germany. The structure uses a telescopic tower that climbs through a lattice frame via a specialised lifting system, replacing the conventional cranes typically required for large-scale turbine erection.

At that elevation, winds blow harder and more steadily. GICON calculates the unit could generate roughly twice the electricity of a conventional turbine with a comparable rotor diameter, though that estimate has not yet been validated under real operating conditions. The pilot is rated at 3.8 MW; future commercial versions are designed to exceed 7 MW.

The project, developed for Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthroughs in Innovation (SPRIND), is built around a specific premise: expanding wind capacity without occupying new land plots. Developers estimate existing German wind parks could accommodate up to 4,000 such high-altitude units, each forming a second rotor tier above conventional machines already on site — increasing output from the same footprint.

Official commissioning of the pilot turbine is scheduled for November 2026. Once real-world output figures are confirmed, the developers plan to bring the technology to market and transition toward serial production.

Source: Electrek