Pitch System Made in India: Local wind energy, global thought
- Windenergy
- References / Success Stories
- Drive Technology
- 10.12.2025
- Reading Time: {{readingTime}} min
Contents
What is the "Pitch System Made in India" project about?
The focus is on the development of a scalable pitch system for wind turbines with the aim of enabling local production and integration in India.
Production in India is particularly important to our customer, as the political context plays a central role: In addition to climate neutrality by 2070, the Indian government is pursuing the goal of making critical infrastructures such as wind energy systems increasingly independent of entirely foreign systems. Delivery problems, support deficits and proprietary legacy technologies of the previous European supplier are reinforcing the desire for a system change.
The first contact was made at Windergy 2024, the wind trade fair in India, which takes place every year in Chennai. Our customer was specifically looking for a provider for a complete pitch system. KEBA impressed with a holistic approach consisting of hardware, software and engineering expertise.
The "Made in India" project aims to develop and prototype a modular pitch system for onshore wind turbines that can be manufactured and scaled locally in India based on a uniform system blueprint. The idea behind the blueprint approach is to design a standardized reference architecture for pitch systems that can be flexibly adapted. The customer's focus is on the substitution of an existing, completely pre-assembled system with an open, integrative platform solution in which the central drive components – pitch inverter and motor, energy storage unit and pre-assembled cable system – are sourced from KEBA, while control cabinet production, integration and assembly are carried out locally.
The release phase included the joint commissioning of the reference system in Germany and India as well as the "Basic Evaluation" and "Design Evaluation" [ IECRE OD-501:2022 in combination with IEC 61400-1:2019], so that the system can be mass-produced in India in the future – with KEBA as the technology partner for the core components and the engineering know-how in the background.
How did the first inquiry become a concrete project?
Shortly after the trade fair, intensive discussions followed, and the customer subsequently submitted a detailed specification sheet with technical and functional requirements. KEBA analyzed the customer requirements with an interdisciplinary team consisting of solution management, application, engineering and sales – spread across the locations in Unna, Linz and Pune. The target was to develop a solution that is functionally equivalent or superior to the previous one but is based on modern components and enables local integration and manufacturing in India.
The technical response to the specifications took the form of a Blueprint-based system concept. The concept addressed all critical requirements – such as engine characteristics, energy management, or the communication interface. Over several iterations, the concept was coordinated with the customer before the joint decision was made to implement a physical prototype.
The structured transition from a non-binding expression of interest to a concrete customer project shows how a resilient partnership can be created through close cooperation between local sales, central engineering and the customer team – with clearly assigned roles, defined processes and a technical target image that is supported by both sides.
What special features and challenges had to be considered?
From a technical point of view, Benjamin Ehrenfeld, Solution and Project Manager in the team, named the combination of inverter, motor and energy storage system as a core technical challenge. The system not only needed to be high-performing, but also robust against grid instability, extreme temperatures and limited maintenance access – requirements that are typical for the Indian market.
To meet these requirements, the pitch system, for example, was equipped with our proven PitchOne inverter and adapted to its "hot climate application" regarding the high ambient temperatures. Furthermore, the engineering tooling was prepared in such a way that local technicians can later implement changes independently.
Even grid fluctuations, which are typically in India, can be compensated for thanks to a wide HVRT tolerance of 140% UN and a high operating voltage for the motor even in LVRT load cases.
In addition to the technical challenges mentioned above, the project was strongly influenced by political and economic conditions. The Indian government is emphatically pursuing the goal of achieving more self-sufficiency in key technologies. For example, since July 31, 2025, new requirements have been in force which state that wind turbine manufacturers must purchase key components (e.g. rotor blades, nacelles, towers, gearboxes, generators, special bearings) from domestic or approved suppliers. In addition, the Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi, demanded this approach at the Windergy 2025 trade fair and called on the wind industry to increase the share of local content from 64% to 85% by 2030.
For KEBA, this meant maximum transparency in the supply chain, modularized system architecture, clear interface definitions, and cooperative partnership on equal terms. Frank Stege, Head of Wind Energy at KEBA, emphasizes: "It was essential that we don´t act as a system provider that determines everything, but as a partner that enables the customer to operate and further develop the system independently."
How is it ensured that the set-up works in India?
After the construction of the working prototype in Unna (Germany), the focus was on assignability. For this purpose, a structured rollout plan was created. This includes:
- detailed documentation of all work steps and system components
- train-the-trainer workshops for employees on the customer side
- test environments with error simulations to anticipate real-world scenarios
- digital support tools that support on-site troubleshooting
According to Frank Stege, interdisciplinary cooperation in the team was particularly important: mechanics, electronics, software development, and project management worked closely together. This setup made it possible to efficiently solve challenges such as suppling bottlenecks or communication gaps with the customer.
The target was to develop a solution that is functionally equivalent or superior to the previous one but is based on modern components and enables local integration and manufacturing in India.
What is the significance of the project for KEBA and the market?
KEBA has been developing and manufacturing solutions for Indian OEMs in the wind energy sector for decades and will thus continue to write the success story. The "Made in India" project is therefore more than a single order – it is a strategic pilot project with a high signal effect and supports Indian partners in achieving their local goals.
"The demand for locally producible, low-maintenance pitch systems is increasing – especially in emerging markets," explains Daniel Jotzo, Team Lead Solution Management. The solution, which was developed together with this customer, can also be adapted for other OEMs with similar requirements in the future. In addition, the project shows that KEBA is able to deliver system solutions along the entire engineering chain.
Conclusion
"Local for Local" with a focus on "Made in India" is a prime example of modern system partnership in the global energy market. It shows how a technical system can be designed to meet local production targets, consider political requirements, and remain a technological leader at the same time. Three experts, one goal – a solution with a signal effect for the international expansion of wind energy technology.
