Vestas, a global manufacturer of onshore and offshore wind turbines, has announced a process through which epoxy resin can be chemically broken down into virgin-grade materials for reuse in new turbine blades. The process was developed through the CETEC project, a coalition of industry and academia established to investigate circular technology for turbine blades.
“As the chemical process relies on widely available chemicals, it is highly compatible for industrialisation, and can therefore be scaled up quickly,” said Mie Elholm Birkbak, Specialist, Innovation & Concepts at Vestas, in a press release.
The solution will eliminate the need for landfill disposal of epoxy-based blades when they are decommissioned.
“Until now, the wind industry has believed that turbine blade material calls for a new approach to design and manufacture to be either recyclable, or beyond this, circular, at end of life. Going forward, we can now view old epoxy-based blades as a source of raw material. Once this new technology is implemented at scale, legacy blade material currently sitting in landfill, as well as blade material in active windfarms, can be disassembled and reused. This signals a new era for the wind industry, and accelerates our journey towards achieving circularity,” said Lisa Ekstrand, Vice President and Head of Sustainability at Vestas.
Through a newly established value chain, supported by Nordic recycling leader Stena Recycling and global epoxy manufacturer Olin, Vestas will now focus on scaling up the novel chemical disassembly process into a commercial solution.
