Lanthan Safe Sky reaches another milestone

aircraft detection lighting systems (ADLS) activated for more than 1,000 wind turbines

• In the third year since LSS was founded, the company can celebrate a special milestone: the firing of the thousandth wind turbine was recently switched to dark and the pace is increasing significantly.
• Extension of the deadline to the end of 2024 in the draft amendment to the EEG provides the necessary time.
• Close involvement of the type approval body confirmed by the draft of the AVV marking.
• LSS is looking forward to welcoming numerous visitors to stand 2C17 at the Husum trade fair from September 12 to 15.

Walldorf, September 08, 2023

True to the company’s mission “For safe skies and dark nights”, leading ADLS manufacturer Lanthan Safe Sky (LSS) and its customers can celebrate a milestone in the company’s history: the firing of the thousandth wind turbine was recently switched to dark on demand with full official approval. This means that, thanks to the transponder ADLS system, another wind farm will be able to largely avoid disruptive light emissions going forward. In future, the obstruction lights will only light up when necessary, in other words only when there is actual relevant air traffic in the vicinity. This benefits the surrounding nature and the affected population.

“In the first three years since our founding, the coordination between wind energy and aviation was very challenging. We had to develop everyday processes for a new industry with a focus on deadlines; in addition, the coronavirus and supply chain crisis significantly delayed implementation,” explains CEO Henning von Barsewisch. “In the meantime, our implementation speed has increased rapidly, we are equipping hundreds of wind turbines per month and the approval processes are also stable. We are proud to have our technology fully operational on more than 1,000 turbines and would like to thank our customers, suppliers, partners and employees for their trust and support.”

Meanwhile, there is news from the regulatory side: the draft amendment to the EEG, which was approved by the federal cabinet in the summer, provides for an extension of the deadline for ADLS conversions until the end of 2024. In addition, operators must “immediately submit a complete and verifiable application for approval of ADLS to the responsible state aviation authority”. “We welcome the deadline extension. It gives the ambitious project to connect 15,000 wind turbines in Germany to an ADLS system and thus switch the lights to dark, the necessary time. We believe that our current processes already allow customers to submit a complete and verifiable application before installation,” comments CTO Christian Hammer.

The Federal Cabinet also recently passed an amendment to the AVV marking, which stipulates the involvement of a type approval body in the ADLS approval process. “We feel confirmed in our course to coordinate closely with the aviation institutions. What initially proved to be a challenge is now helping us to implement it quickly without further adjustments. We are continuing to accelerate along this path,” summarizes Christian Hammer.

Meanwhile, LSS sees great potential in other European countries. “We installed the first ADLS system in the Netherlands last year,” reports Henning von Barsewisch. “There is a great deal of international interest and the relevant authorities in many countries are already making efforts to implement ADLS in a similar way to Germany.” Both German and international visitors will have the opportunity to exchange ideas at the trade fair in Husum next week.

About Lanthan Safe Sky GmbH

Lanthan Safe Sky GmbH‘s mission is to make the sky safer and nights darker. It emerged from the founders and players of Lanthan, Air Avionics and RECASE and thus combines the expertise of a leading provider of obstacle marking systems, an aviation-approved avionics system manufacturer and an experienced engineering and consulting service provider in the field of renewable energies.

The companies involved came together years ago to bring secure, cost-effective and sustainable detection technologies to market maturity with the Transponder ADLS.

They worked hard over a long period of time to create acceptance for this young technology. With success, as a broad consensus was reached: New legal regulations in countries such as Germany, but also at the ICAO, the world’s highest-ranking international civil aviation organization, allow the use of transponder ADLS technology, which is emission-free and based purely on the reception of data that every aircraft transmits anyway.