The REFRESH team at the end of the first day.

The REFRESH partners met in Zaragoza, Spain, on 26-27 June for the project’s M30 General Assembly. The meeting was hosted by CIRCE.

A full agenda for Day 1 included updates on the technical Work Packages.

WP4: Process integration, demonstration and testing at TRL7

There was a lot to cover in WP4, which concludes soon. This work involves the scaling up and testing of the wind turbine blade recycling technologies developed in the first phase of the project.

ETAT9 provided an overview of its smart cutting solution for blades. Over the next six months, it will focus on finding a new work site, optimising the technologies, and moving step by step towards industrialisation.

MTB has been continuing to prototype and test the blade shredding and sorting solutions.

Gees Recycling discussed progress on its new mechanical recycling plant, which includes a new moulding line and 220 ton hot press for producing panels using recycled materials from blades. The final equipment installations are underway and completion is expected soon.

Enecolab continues to develop its thermochemical technology that will convert the dust and fines produced during blade downsizing and recycling processes into energy and by-products. Prototyping of the reactor and syngas cleaning system continue.

Giorgio Betteto of Gees Recycling starts his presentation.

Gjenkraft is making good progress on upscaling its thermal recycling line (batch reactor and continuous line), and is now installing equipment prior to commissioning. A purification line and cutting line have been installed.

CIRCE continues to explore the potential of its microwave (MW)-assisted pyrolysis and solvolysis processes for blade recycling, carrying out a techno-economic analysis at different process scales. A sensitivity analysis for MW pyrolysis blade recycling at large scale has been carried out.

WP5: Digital platform and prototype development

TECNALIA provided an update on its development of a smart tool for traceability systems. Definition of assets, users and processes continues, based on feedback from the REFRESH partners. Over the next six months, work will continue on the development of a decision-making tool with deployment of a functional blockchain traceability platform scheduled for the end of the year.

TECNALIA also provided an update on its task to develop a cement-based material for 3D printing which will incorporate recycled fibres. Different fibre dosages are being tested.

As part of this WP, ACCIONA is developing prototypes using materials obtained from the mechanical and thermal recycling processes. These include a pultruded profile, infusion laminate with nonwoven mat, formwork panel and pultruded profile.

WP6: Circular by design

Andrea Tinti of CETMA discusses the products being developed using recycled materials.

CETMA provided a summary of ongoing work to manufacture products using secondary materials generated by the REFRESH recycling processes. Four prototypes will be developed.

As part of the REFRESH pepurposing strategy, CETMA is developing a picnic table using cut blade parts and a Gees panel for the top. (This is similar to the ‘blade table’ displayed at JEC World, which used a cut blade piece for the top.) A structural repurposing application – a crash cushion – is also being explored.

Applications exploiting mechanically recycled materials are also being developed, including a framed formwork based on Gees panels.

Applications exploiting thermally recycled materials include nonwoven products based on recycled glass fibre obtained from Gjenkraft’s pyrolysis process. Applications developed to demonstrate its use in the vacuum infusion process include a sports car hood and non-structural outer skin of a wind turbine blade. Prepreg manufacturing is also being studied. Insulation material is a further promising application. 

Applications in concrete structures are also being developed with TECNALIA, as noted above. As a demonstration product, a 1/25 scale 3D printed wind turbine tower will be manufactured.

WP6 also include the project’s sustainability analyses, led by RINA.

Work has started on a task aiming to assess the global sustainability and industrial scalability of the REFRESH solutions across economic, environmental, and social dimensions. It will identify the most viable scenarios up to TRL9 for each of the technologies being developed.​

This task runs in parallel to WP4 (process integration, demonstration and testing at TRL7) and WP5 (digital platform and prototype development.

The final life cycle assessment (LCA) is in progress and the life cycle costing (LCC) has started. A social LCA (S-LCA) will also be carried out.

Partner highlights

Reflections on the M30 General Assembly from our partners.

Andrea Tinti, CETMA: “Pilot plants are on their way to being delivered, ready to start processing composite waste from end-of-life wind turbine blades and turning them into new valuable products. Significant progress was also made on the traceability and decision-making tool – designed to assess the best recovery strategy each time – as well as on life cycle assessment and the development of recycled and repurposed demos and prototypes to validate the REFRESH solutions.”

Anurag Bansal of ACCIONA with a (re)fresh take on blade recycling.

Ioana Muntean, RINA: As task leader of WP6.2: Experimental LCA of recycling processes, it was a fantastic opportunity to witness firsthand the progress made by our industrial partners in developing innovative recycling technologies for end-of-life wind turbine blades and to reaffirme the crucial role that Life Cycle Thinking methodologies, including LCA, LCC and SLCA, play in advancing sustainable recycling processes. By collaborating closely with the partner leading the development of the traceability platform, we will work together to integrate sustainability results, enabling informed decision-making that fosters environmental, economic, and social sustainability throughout the recycling value chain.”

In his presentation, Anurag Bansal of ACCIONA found a creative quote to illustrate the journey of recycling: “Not all treasure is silver and gold … because sometimes treasure doesn’t glitter – it gets shredded, milled, and re-imagined.”

“It was a pleasure to be part of the General Assembly and see the incredible work taking shape across the REFRESH Project. That quote came from a moment of reflection – there’s something fascinating about how materials once considered waste are now finding new life through innovation, creativity and collaboration. Watching those retired wind turbine blades go from decommissioned giants to valuable resources really brings the idea of circularity to life!”