Reblade’s post GITEX momentum meets real world wind operations

Reblade, a Danish deep tech company focused on automated wind turbine blade maintenance, reports a commercial inflection after participating at GITEX Europe in Berlin and GITEX Global in Dubai in 2025 as part of the EIC International Trade Fairs Programme. The company says it has secured between five and eight parallel pilot projects with large offshore energy providers and original equipment manufacturers across Europe and the United States. To execute this pipeline, Reblade expanded from seven to 22 employees, a move that signals a shift from proof of concept to multi site industrial validation but also increases operating burn and execution risk.

Company representatives used the EIC platform for direct engagement with customers, investors and policy stakeholders, and gained stage time in policy oriented panels. The CEO Frank Kjerstein argues that EIC affiliation changed how potential partners perceived the company, framing it as part of a broader European innovation strategy. He said, Being present through the EIC changes the conversation. You are not just another start up, you are immediately seen as part of a European strategy for renewable energy and innovation.

Market signals from Berlin and Dubai

Reblade describes a clear contrast between European and non European traction. In Europe, where renewable rollout and onshore and offshore service supply chains are comparatively mature, interest moved faster to concrete pilot talks. Kjerstein said, In Europe, renewable energy is already a priority. That means people are ready to move from interest to pilots much faster. In Dubai, discussions were more strategic and long term. Stakeholders were preparing their ecosystems for advanced solutions and exploring timelines rather than immediate deployments.

The distinction helped the firm prioritise near term pilots in Europe while shaping a longer horizon internationalisation strategy. As the CEO put it, Trade fairs helped us clearly see where renewable energy innovation can move fast and where it is still catching up. That insight alone has been extremely valuable for shaping our strategy. This is consistent with how EU startups often treat multi region trade shows as a fast way to A B test market readiness and refine go to market focus.

Visibility went beyond the exhibition floor. Reblade joined EIC supported speaking opportunities, sharing panels with EIC leadership to showcase both its technology and the EIC’s role for high risk innovators. Kjerstein said, Going on stage was not about promoting Reblade alone. It was about showing what it looks like when EU strategy, funding and innovation come together. Such platforms can accelerate credibility building, though conversion into revenue depends on negotiation cycles that can stretch across multiple fiscal years in the energy sector.

From pilots to scale up ambitions

Reblade cites several tangible outcomes from EIC Business Acceleration Services activities, including the International Trade Fairs Programme, InnoMatch and the Investor Readiness and Outreach Programme. The company now reports a pipeline of five to eight pilots spanning Europe and the United States. These include activities with one of the world’s largest offshore wind companies in Europe, as well as pilots with European and US OEMs and industrial stakeholders. Some engagements have already become pilot project contracts with major European energy companies and OEMs. In addition, Reblade signed one pilot agreement with a US based partner that could scale to large commercial deployment if performance and economics are validated.

The company positions these pilots as critical operational feedback loops to build credibility and chart a path to long term commercial relationships. Kjerstein said, Pilots are not just about testing technology. They are where you prove credibility, trust and the ability to scale. While accurate in principle, the conversion rate from pilots to framework agreements can vary widely in wind operations and maintenance and typically hinges on proof of availability, safety performance, lifecycle cost reduction and alignment with OEM warranties.

The EIC backed visibility and pilot traction reportedly supported investor interest. Public funding is described as a de risking effect in fundraising rounds, which is a common pattern in EU deep tech where blended finance and recognition by European programmes can make early private capital more comfortable with technical and regulatory risks.

Technology trajectory and partnerships

Reblade plans to evolve from automated to more autonomous blade maintenance, building on its current drone based repair solution that already reduces dependency on specialised rope access crews. The company says market feedback is pushing for greater autonomy to enable cost effective preventive maintenance at scale rather than reactive repairs. This aligns with growing workforce constraints in the wind sector and the push to lower operations and maintenance costs across expanding European onshore and offshore fleets.

To accelerate R and D and validation, Reblade expanded collaborations with applied research institutes and universities in Germany and the Netherlands. These partnerships are intended to strengthen testing and development capacity and to help meet industrial requirements on reliability, safety and integration with existing service workflows.

Where the opportunity meets constraints

Autonomous inspection and repair in wind is strategically attractive, but deployment depends on non trivial conditions. Offshore sites involve harsh weather windows, saltwater corrosion, vessel coordination, turbine access rules and strict health and safety regimes. Moving from automated flights under close human oversight to higher autonomy requires robust navigation, perception, force control for surface work on composite blades and dependable integration with OEM approved repair protocols. It also requires regulatory clearance for beyond visual line of sight operations, as well as insurance, certification and acceptance by asset owners and OEMs who carry warranty risk.

The company’s staffing increase from seven to 22 adds capacity for multiple concurrent pilots and for more R and D, but it also raises monthly burn. Whether this scale is sustainable will depend on the speed of pilot execution, the share of paid pilots versus unpaid trials, and the rate at which pilots convert into multi year service contracts. These are typical inflection points for EIC backed deep tech companies operating in capital intensive markets.

What GITEX can and cannot do

GITEX Europe and GITEX Global are powerful visibility engines that attract technology buyers, investors and policymakers. They are not energy specific, which can limit depth of technical due diligence on the show floor, but they are effective for top of funnel exposure and for convening cross sector stakeholders. The EIC pavilion format and curated meetings can help filter prospects. Still, industrial sales cycles in energy remain driven by site trials, safety credentials and total cost of ownership proofs rather than event enthusiasm.

What Reblade says it achieved

Implications for EU clean tech scale ups

Reblade’s trajectory illustrates how the EIC’s non financial services can accelerate market testing and visibility. Being featured within a European pavilion can confer legitimacy and convening power with policy stakeholders and corporate decision makers. However, tangible impact will be judged by the conversion of pilots into multi asset, multi year contracts and by demonstrated reduction in downtime, safety exposure and lifecycle maintenance costs on real fleets. This is where many robotics in energy initiatives face their decisive tests.

If Reblade moves toward greater autonomy while satisfying safety and regulatory requirements, the approach could lower operating costs and support more systematic preventive maintenance across Europe’s growing wind base. The company’s next milestones are likely to include higher autonomy demonstrations under real offshore constraints, OEM aligned repair protocols and evidence of repeatable deployment across sites and seasons.

About the EIC International Trade Fairs Programme 3.0 and how to engage

The EIC International Trade Fairs Programme 3.0 is part of the EIC Business Acceleration Services portfolio. It supports selected EIC funded SMEs, startups and scaleups from EU Member States and Associated Countries to leverage international trade fairs for commercialisation in foreign markets and to amplify the EU innovation brand. According to the programme description, around 20 renowned fairs are included.

For questions about the programme, companies can contact the EIC Community Helpdesk and select EVENT – EIC ITF Programme in the Category field. To stay informed on open calls, success stories and partner opportunities, organisations can subscribe to the EIC Business Acceleration Services Newsletter. The EIC notes that information shared in such stories is for knowledge sharing and does not represent the official view of the European Commission or other organisations.

Related EIC Business Acceleration Services mentioned by Reblade