Siemens launches world’s first recyclable wind turbine blade for commercial use

The recyclable wind turbine blades are made from a combination of materials cast together with resin to form a strong and flexible lightweight structure.

Wind power is one of the cornerstones in the quest to tackle the climate emergency. With more than 200 GW of new offshore capacity projected by the Global Wind Energy Council to be installed by 2030, it is critical to quickly introduce recyclable solutions. Siemens Gamesa is moving towards a sustainable future with the ‘RecyclableBlade’, the world’s first recyclable wind turbine blades ready for commercial use offshore. With this technology, separation of the materials in the blade is possible at the end of its lifetime, enabling recycling into new applications and thereby defines the next milestone in sustainability.

The first six 81-meter long RecyclableBlades have been produced at the Siemens Gamesa blade factory in Aalborg, Denmark. “The time to tackle climate emergency is now, and we need to do it in a holistic way. In pioneering wind circularity – where elements contribute to a circular economy of the wind industry – we have reached a major milestone in a society that puts care for the environment at its heart. The RecyclableBlade is another tangible example of how Siemens Gamesa is leading technological development in the wind industry,” states Andreas Nauen, CEO of Siemens Gamesa.

Many components of a wind turbine, such as the tower and nacelle components have established recycling practices. Until now, the composite materials used in wind turbine blades have been more challenging to recycle. Built on proven, reliable processes, the RecyclableBlade breaks this mould and is the first of its kind, enabling recycling at the end of its lifecycle and sets the path to a future where the full recyclability of projects will be a market requirement.

First deployments

Siemens Gamesa is committed with RWE to install and monitor the world’s first wind turbines with recyclable blades in Germany at the Kaskasi offshore wind power plant. Current plans are for the project to be producing energy from 2022 onwards. The company is also working with EDF Renewables and wpd with the aim to deploy several sets of RecyclableBlade at a future offshore wind farm.

Technological advancement

Siemens Gamesa wind turbine blades are made from a combination of materials cast together with resin to form a strong and flexible lightweight structure. The chemical structure of this new resin type makes it possible to efficiently separate the resin from the other components at end of the blade’s working life. This mild process protects the properties of the materials in the blade, in contrast to other existing ways of recycling conventional wind turbine blades. The materials can then be reused in new applications after separation.

Picture Credit: Siemens Gamesa

Youtube: Siemens Gamesa RecyclableBlade