How a Giant Aircraft could Ease Clean Energy Supply Chains
By Charlie King
October 17, 2025
Radia’s WindRunner aircraft could redesign how wind turbine blades and oversized cargo reach remote areas, bypassing outdated road infrastructure limits
The infrastructure supporting global ground transport serves daily traffic but struggles with oversized cargo. Supply chains across the world face increasing pressure as the scale of renewable energy components expands. Wind turbines in particular present a challenge due to their sheer size and the limitations of existing logistics networks.
Radia, founded in 2016 by aerospace engineer Mark Lundstrom, sets out to change this with its WindRunner aircraft. Designed to transport the world’s largest wind turbine blades, WindRunner reaches areas that roads and railways cannot access. Traditional infrastructure can move blades around 70 metres long, but the next generation of turbines requires blades exceeding 100 metres. This creates a need to rethink how energy projects move their largest parts.
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WindRunner functions not just as an aircraft but as a logistics solution for clean energy development. Its design unlocks supply chains weighed down by blades too long for ground transport. Capable of carrying blades more than 330 feet (around 105 metres) and landing on semi-prepared, unpaved airstrips as short as 1,800 metres, it enables direct delivery to remote sites.
The aircraft offers 7,700 cubic metres of cargo space, around 10 times more than a Boeing 777, and carries between 72.6 and 80 tonnes. By reaching construction zones directly, it removes the need for expensive last-mile transport from ports and highways.
https://sustainabilitymag.com/news/windrunner-how-a-giant-aircraft-ease-clean-energy-supply-chains
