Recycle
How can composite material from end-of-life turbine blades re-enter the supply chain as a recycled composite material for use in other sectors?
Globally, around 14,000 wind turbines blades are reaching the end of their usable life within the next two to three years - that’s almost 50,000 tonnes of blades that are currently destined for landfill or incineration. Based on the current installed capacity, this could increase tenfold by the end of the decade.
Delivered in partnership with the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and supported by The Crown Estate and RenewableUK, SusWIND will discover and demonstrate viable ways to recycle composite wind turbine blades, to explore the use of sustainable materials and processes in developing composites for blades, and to innovate in design to future-proof the turbine blades of tomorrow.
Investing now in the future of composites sustainability will unlock the use of recycled and recyclable composites for the next generation of sustainable products, especially the larger wind turbines of the future. This will create a future where composites are a viable, sustainable and low carbon material for use across multiple industries including renewable energy, transportation and infrastructure.
Delivering a sustainable future for composites in wind
SusWIND has completed a successful second year of its industry programme, focused on creating a viable circular economy for wind turbine blades. The 2023 SusWIND Annual Review presents a year of insights, evidence and achievements from the programme that is enabling bold decision making needed to deliver industrial transformation.
SusWIND work programmes
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Sustain
How can the introduction of more sustainable materials and processes reduce the environmental footprint of blade manufacture?
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Design
How can wind turbines be designed for circularity to eliminate production waste and enable disassembly?
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Who's involved?
SusWIND is bringing together leading stakeholders in the composites industry and energy sector to help create a future where recycled and recyclable composites are a viable, sustainable and low carbon material for use across multiple industries. The possibilities are endless when we collaborate and bring together the best minds to drive innovation.
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Join us
We need industry support, collaboration and investment to deliver a more sustainable future by creating a circular lifecycle for composite materials. Contact us to discuss the programme in more detail and how you can get involved in this exciting initiative.
Resources
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Carbon Trust: Offshore Wind PCF guidance
Carbon Trust’s “Offshore Wind Industry Product Carbon Footprinting Guidance” provides a standardised methology for calculating the life cycle carbon footprint of offshore wind developments.
