Major advances toward full-scale recycling of wind turbine blades

A large number of wind turbines will need to be recycled in the coming years. Currently, it is possible to recycle approximately 90 percent of a wind turbine. Some components, especially composite blade materials, are challenging to recycle at end-of-life. Historically, composite blades are often either landfilled or incinerated. WindEurope is actively engaged in efforts to establish a European-wide landfill ban, which is already in place in a number of countries.  

The CETEC (Circular Economy for Thermosets Epoxy Composites) project, which began in 2021 and is run by a number of industrial and academic partners, reached a breakthrough when it succeeded in developing a process to separate and recycle epoxy, a key component in wind turbine blades. Thanks to the new method, the materials inside a blade, such as epoxy, carbon, PET foam, aluminium and glass fiber, can be separated. With this method, blades can become fully circular. 

The Danish Technological Institute, one of the key academic partners in the CETEC project, Vestas and Olin, all played a central role in developing the foundation for the chemical separation technology. Aarhus University also participated in the CETEC project. 

To develop the chemical recycling process further, Stena Recycling and Vestas have entered a close collaboration with the project “Blade Circularity Solution”. The focus is on moving the solution out of the laboratory and scaling the chemical process to fit an industrial setup. Stena Recycling’s operations in Denmark and its Research & Development department have now moved from a laboratory environment to a testbed environment. The testbed in Halmstad has capacity to receive larger volumes of wind turbine blades. A large number of test batches has already been produced using the recycling system.  

– We have made major advances in the technology, and the testbed is a significant step in our scaling journey. Successful tests confirm that the recycling system works and is scalable beyond the laboratory environment, says Fredrik Overgaard, Director Research & Development, Stena Recycling. 

A wind turbine has an expected lifespan of about 25 years, and the new recycling method is unique.  

– Recycling wind turbine blades has long been the major challenge. There are competing technologies, but our method is unique to secure the material properties. Within a few years we believe we will have a model available on the commercial market. We can apply our method directly to existing blades, significantly accelerating the development, says Henrik Grand Petersen, MD, Stena Recycling Denmark.  

– We have set a clear ambition to deliver zero‑waste wind turbines by 2040. While most turbine components are already recyclable metals, enabling the recycling of composite materials is essential. Together with Stena Recycling, we are scaling this new process towards industrial application, advancing circularity for wind turbine blades and helping our customers strengthen project competitiveness and long‑term value, says Lisa Ekstrand, VP of Sustainability, Vestas.