CIRCUBLADE – Circular approach for end-of-life wind turbine blades

The problem of how to take care of wind turbine blades after their lifetime remains and is growing. Since the installation of wind turbines took off in the 1990s and 2000s and the estimated lifetime is 20–25 years, the need for technical solutions for handling old blades is urgent in the face of the upcoming dismantling of these wind turbines. Wind turbine blades mainly consist of glass fiber composite, i.e. hard plastic (epoxy) reinforced with glass fibres. Dealing with of end-of-life wind turbine blades is today a sensitive issue, as 50% of the blades go to incineration and 50% to landfill. Today, there is no sustainable and economical solution for recycling epoxy-based GFRP. The aim of this project was to give a second life (minimum 40 years) to the wind turbine blades and give time to the knowledge to come up with a feasible and sustainable solution for the management of decommissioned GFRP structures (separation and recovery of constituents).

The aim of the project was to develop a circular economic solution through the reuse of used wind turbine blades in new products (pedestrian- and cycle bridges and noise barriers) with a focus on efficient logistics, design and manufacturing as well as the development of a digital tool that will contribute to being able to achieve the circular solution and resource efficiency.

The solutions developed in the project have been focusing on climate/environmental benefit through the reuse of used wind turbine blades that today burden the environment (incineration and landfill) in new products/applications. The business benefit of the project's solutions has been studied through sustainable business models with a strong connection to both short- and long-term market introductions of various products made from used blades.