The REWIND Project aims to develop relevant technologies to dismantle wind turbine blades and implement new methods for composite repurposing and recycling. This is a way to improve their circularity, increase the industrial applications of end-of-life composites and avoid current landfilling and incineration.
AIMPLAS
wind turbine blades awaiting assembly
AIMPLAS
Today, roughly 2.5 million tonnes of composite materials are used in wind turbines globally. Approximately 350 Ktonnes of end-of-life (EoL) wind turbine blades will be decommissioned in Europe by 2030. However, recycling composite materials remains challenging and the circularity of wind turbine blades is currently close to zero.
AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, has launched the REWIND research project to develop proper disassembly, quality inspection, and characterisation of composite waste to select what composite parts from EoL products should be reused or recycled. It will also highlight potential high-value applications for EoL composites, such as repurposing for the construction and automotive industries.
Recycling the most degraded parts will separate the matrix from the fibre. After sizing, spinning and weaving, the recycled fibres will be used in the same wind sector with new recycled resin from the solvolysis process monomer. They will be used for manufacturing a wind blade part and a repair kit as demonstrators.
The project is funded by the European Union and includes 14 partners (6 RTDs, 2 Universities, 4 SMEs, 3 large companies and 1 association) from seven different countries: Spain, France, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Turkey and Greece.
The outcomes of this four-year research project include:
- Better overall lifetime, reliability, recyclability and sustainability of onshore and offshore wind turbines
- Potential new markets in wind turbine recycling and re-purposing
- Enhanced overall sustainability of wind energy systems based on mainstream LCA to address social, economic and environmental aspects
- A more efficient decommissioning and improved circularity of the wind sector
