The top of a wind turbine. Photo owned by: Vestas Wind Systems A/S

Sustainable future

Scaling innovative solutions for epoxy-based blade recycling

Wind energy plays an important role in reducing climate change. The wind energy industry is growing fast. New wind farms are being built and old ones need to be decommissioned. The challenge so far has been to recycle old wind turbine blades. Now Stena Recycling and Vestas have a solution. Photo owned by: Vestas Wind Systems A/S

Solving a major sustainability challenge

Many of Europe’s wind farms are approaching the end of their operational lifetime. In the coming years, thousands of tons of turbine blades will need to be decommissioned. The components of turbine blades are glued together using epoxy. Today it is not possible to separate and recycle these components due to the chemical properties of epoxy resin. Instead, old wind turbine blades end up in landfills.

Vestas, in cooperation with Aarhus University, Danish Technological Institute, and Olin, who are all partners of the CETEC project, has discovered a breakthrough chemical process that makes it possible to recycle epoxy-based wind turbine blades. Now Vestas and Stena Recycling are working on commercializing this solution, establishing a circular economy for the wind energy industry.

At Vestas we have an ambition to produce zero waste wind turbines by 2040. To deliver on this goal, we have to find a way to integrate composite materials, which wind turbine blades are made of, into a circular loop.

Lisa Ekstrand, VP and head of Sustainability at Vestas Wind Systems

Circularity partner to the sustainable energy sector

The role of Stena Recycling is to apply its chemical recycling and technical expertise and knowledge to scale and commercialize this recycling process. The aim is to be the preferred circularity partner to the sustainable energy sector.

At Stena Recycling, our strategy is to create circularity in the material streams. With our expertise and in-depth material knowledge we will take that technology and scale it to an industrial level. We have created new solutions for the renewable sector, especially within batteries and solar panels. We have scaled our technologies. Now we want to do the same with wind turbine blades.

Henrik Grand Petersen, Managing Director of Stena Recycling Denmark

Step by step guide to wind turbine blade recycling

Decommissioning and cutting of blades

Blades of up to 100 meters long are cut in pieces after decommissioning for safe transport. The cutting is done safely, with consideration for the environment and as quietly as possible using effective tools for the strong materials the blades are made of.

Transport to Stena Recycling

During the cutting the most efficient tools are used since the blades are made of strong materials. Once the blades have been cut to smaller pieces, they are transported to Stena Recycling for material separation.

Chemical separation process

At Stena Recycling, the blades are exposed to a liquid that penetrates the structure and breaks the epoxy into fragments. The materials can then be peeled from each other and recycled in separate material streams.

The epoxy resin

In this step, our goal is to break down the resin from the wind turbine blades, with the aim of being able to reuse it in new resin-based products.

Reaching circularity

Our final step and ultimate goal is to use the recycled epoxy resin in the production of new resin-based products, such as boats, tanks, and wind turbine blades.

Worker in high-visibility jacket and hard hat, reflected in a vehicle mirror.

The European wind turbine industry*

At COP28, it was agreed to triple renewable energy capacity globally and double energy efficiency improvements by 2030, to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Wind energy was recognized as an important technology to mitigate climate change.
In 2023, the EU installed a record-high 17 GW of new wind energy capacity. Yet this remains considerably below the capacity needed to achieve the 2030 targets.
Germany built most new capacity in 2023, followed by the Netherlands and Sweden.
Wind energy was 19 percent of all the electricity consumed in the EU-27 in 2023. In Denmark it was more than 50 percent.
Many of Europe’s onshore wind farms are approaching the end of their planned operational lifetime.
By 2030, 52 GW of capacity will be more than 20 years old. Denmark, Portugal and Spain have the oldest wind fleets on average.

*Source: WindEurope Report: Wind Energy in Europe 2023, GWEC Global Wind Report 2024

https://www.stenarecycling.com/news-insights/insights-inspiration/guides-articles/scaling-innovative-solutions-for-epoxy-based-blade-recycling/

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