SusWIND is a major programme launched by the NCC as part of Sustainable Composites that will discover and demonstrate viable ways to recycle composite wind turbine blades. It will also explore the use of sustainable materials and processes in developing composites for blades, and will innovate in design to future-proof the turbine blades of tomorrow.
Kick-start projects
Sustainable Composites will develop underpinning technical work and investigate promising technologies through internal kick start projects. These will be run collaboratively between NCC and CPI and draw on the expertise and experience of the two centres. At current, two initial projects have been launched. The first, Steam to Value Stream, will interrogate the feasibility of a novel recycling solution for composites. The second, Bio Bolster, is looking to investigate the potential for bio materials in the wind energy industry. Additional projects will be scoped and carried out as the initiative evolves, and we’ll be looking to progress any promising findings into collaborative research and development projects with industry.
Competitions, STEM, and academic support
Alongside developing internal capability, Sustainable Composites will be creating opportunities to support promising innovative projects across academia and industry. We’ll be facilitating competitions, offering industrial supervision for engineering students, and focusing on STEM engagement to support the next generation of sustainable engineers.
Collaborative R&D programmes
We will be looking to support and champion collaborative research and development bids with our network. We will be building on the work carried out during ReDisCoveR, supplementing this with input from our kick start projects, and looking for new opportunities that support the Sustainable Composites ambition of accelerating UK’s progress towards net zero through the use of sustainable composites.
