At high altitudes, the wind is stronger and has fewer lulls. Back in 2020, the first year after it was founded, SPRIND already set its sights on harnessing the resulting possibilities for energy production. The impetus for this came first to SPRIND from Professor Horst Bendix, who was not only a university professor and engineering consultant but also spent many years in the GDR as Head of Technology and Research at Leipzig’s heavy machinery producer Kirow, as well as Professor Jochen Großmann, a business manager, honorary professor and founder of the GICON Group comprising several independent engineering providers that developed the high-altitude wind turbine being built in Schipkau.

Thanks to the independent vision and expertise of these two men and their ongoing collaboration with SPRIND, a new wind energy landscape and energy sovereignty are within reach. The first GICON high-altitude wind turbine, a hidden champion of engineering, is currently being built in Schipkau. It is completely turning the status quo upside down: They’re building a brand-new type of wind turbine tower which, with its telescopic mechanism, makes it possible for high-altitude wind to be harnessed for the first time.

SPRIND and GICON are showing the world how to build a ground-breaking wind turbine solution from a conventional turbine and a common-place steel lattice mast, proving that engineers from Dresden – together with SPRIND – can not only design great innovations but also construct them. In view of Germany’s immense ambition to use this as a giant step towards energy independence, the fact that the 365-meter turbine will be the tallest in the entire world is almost a side note.

In the second half of 2025, GICON, SPRIND and construction companies from the surrounding area cast the foundation, set the first anchorings for the steel lattice tower and began preparation for its installation. Once the tower is erected, the turbine will be attached and telescoped up to the heights, ensuring the high-altitude wind turbine’s place in history.

Of course, this is only the beginning as we will require a large number of turbines like this to take wind power to where we both need it to be and, ideally, where it’s also accepted. This means that many other good ideas and valuable experiences from the project need to be quickly implemented in order to keep the costs of power generated by high-altitude wind turbines below current prices and reduce electricity prices in the extremes of winter. As high-altitude wind power generation is more frequently available and stable, the chances of this happening are very good.