Today around 85 to 90% of wind turbines’ total mass can be recycled. But turbine blades represent a specific challenge. Made from complex composite materials to allow for lighter and more durable blades, they require specific processes for recycling.
“We are committed to support the composites industry in finding reliable recycling technologies”, commented Roberto Frassine, president of EuCIA. “Our collaboration with WindEurope and Cefic is a great example of how we can make progress towards establishing solutions that are both sustainable and economically viable. EuCIA has been working hard to better estimate the amount of End-of-life waste of composites in Europe. Through WindEurope we were able to validate our findings for wind markets, which will be the basis for further strategic programs and actions to promote composites recycling.”
Read the report here
The report’s key conclusions are:
- There are various existing technologies to recycle wind turbine blades, but these solutions are not yet all available at industrial scale and economically competitive.
- Today, the main technology for recycling composite waste is through cement co-processing. WindEurope, Cefic and EuCIA strongly support increasing and improving composite waste recycling through the development of alternative recycling technologies. This requires increased research and innovation funding.
- At the same time, existing treatment routes such as cement co-processing must be deployed more widely to deal with the growing waste streams.
- The best strategy for wind turbine blades is one that combines design, testing, maintenance, upgrades, and the appropriate recycling technology to ensure the maximum value of the material is retrieved throughout its lifetime. This requires a better understanding of the environmental impacts associated with the choice of materials during design and with the different waste treatment methods at end-of-life.
- Finally, composite recycling is a cross-sector challenge. An active engagement from all the composite-using sectors and authorities is required to develop cost-effective solutions and strong European value chains.
www.eucia.eu
