An aerial view of wind turbine wings being transported to Stena Recyclings facilities.

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Pilot project between Stena Recycling and Vestas

Infrastructure

Manufacturing

Circular blade solution

In the coming years, thousands of wind turbines will be decommissioned or repowered, posing a significant challenge for sustainability but also a valuable source of composite materials. As one of Europe’s leading recycling companies, Stena Recycling plays an important role in the transition to a circular economy.

The aim of the project is to create a pragmatic solution on an industrial scale for wind turbine blades. The wind turbine industry has long faced the challenge of recycling epoxy-based blade materials. This new collaboration will make the wind energy industry even more circular.

This initiative will potentially reduce waste, conserve resources, and lower the environmental impact of wind turbine decommissioning, contributing to a more sustainable and circular economy.

CETEC-Group: Circularity Blade Solution

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Louise Drue Andersen

Wind segment manager

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Recycling the entire wind turbine

The effort to scale up the solution for epoxy-based wind turbine blades is essential for our shared goal of ensuring a green value chain for wind turbines. At Stena Recycling, we offer total waste management, which includes all material parts from wind turbines. When the project is completed, we will be able to offer a total solution for wind turbines - an important step for the green energy sector.

Infographic Vestas and Stena Recycling project

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"We see this solution as a great opportunity to contribute to making a sustainable solution even more sustainable and circular, and we are ready to apply our expertise and knowledge in chemical recycling to this process."

Henrik Grand Petersen, Managing Director of Stena Recycling Denmark

Pioneering a new era in wind turbine blade recycling

This pilot project, expected to run for the next few years, opens the doors to a new era where old epoxy-based wind turbine blades, which would otherwise end up in landfills, can become raw materials for the production of new products. With this new technology, the epoxy resin can be broken down into materials of original quality, paving the way for recycling and reusing materials in a way that has previously been impossible.

Together with Vestas, Olin, and other partners in the CETEC project, Stena Recycling will work to scale up this new chemical decomposition process to a commercial solution that can benefit both the environment and the industry.

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A benefit for multiple industries

When the process is fully developed, it will not only enable the production of new wind turbine blades from recycled materials but also signal the potential to transform other epoxy-based composite materials into raw materials for a wider range of industries.

“We are already well underway and look forward to working on this pilot project in the coming period. By leveraging our extensive experience and infrastructure, we will help promote recycling so that together we can create a world where resources circulate instead of ending up in landfills”, adds Henrik Grand Petersen.

The CETEC project - an award-winning solution

The award-winning solution has been developed as part of the CETEC project, which brings together a coalition of industry and academia established to explore circular technology for wind turbine blades. The solution is based on an innovative chemical process that breaks down epoxy resin into virgin-grade materials, thereby establishing a circular economy for wind turbine blades.

It indicates that today’s wind turbine blades can serve as raw materials for future blades and can also be applied to blades currently in operation. Once matured, it will eliminate the need for redesigning blades or disposing of epoxy-based blades in landfills when they are decommissioned.

Winner of the 2024 Global Innovation Award by JEC Composites

Stena Recycling, in collaboration with Olin Corporation, Vestas Wind Systems, Aarhus University, and the Danish Technological Institute, has been recognized with the 2024 Global Innovation Award by JEC Composites in the category of renewable energy.

"I am so proud of this achievement in our joint project, which shows that innovative partnerships lead to new solutions in composite recycling. Within the collaboration project with Vestas, we have replicated the CETEC innovation in our own laboratory and are now exploring scaling up. We are excited about how far we have come - and are proud to continue the development."

Louise Drue Andersen, co-PM & Wind Segment Manager, Stena Recycling

https://www.stenarecycling.com/news-insights/insights-inspiration/guides-articles/the-circular-blade-solution/

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