During our recent stakeholder workshop, Anurag Bansal, Head of Strategic Innovations at ACCIONA Construccion, introduced the three REFRESH prototypes ACCIONA is developing to demonstrate construction applications for recycled blade materials.

In the presentation Developing markets for recycled materials, Anurag teams up with EuCIA’s managing director Raphaël Pleynet to discuss the barriers to greater market update of recycled materials, review the evolving regulatory framework that’s driving increased composites circularity in Europe, and explain ACCIONA’s focus on industrial validation of the REFRESH solutions.

Recycled does not mean lower quality

ANURAG BANSAL’s presentation: “So at Acciona we believe the biggest barrier to adoption of these materials is performance uncertainty. For the construction industry to truly embrace these recycled composites, we have to prove a single point, which is recycled does not mean lower quality.”

“Now this is why we are focused on industrial scale validation. So here you can see that we have chosen three demonstrators, but those demonstrators were not selected randomly. We designed them to follow the life story of a decommissioned wind turbine blade. We wanted to see how every single part of that blade could be used again.”

“So if we start with prototype 1. When a blade is decommissioned, it is cut and shredded, which generates lot of fine particles. Usually these particles are ignored, but we are taking these fine particles or milled particles and using them to create pultruded profiles. We want to prove that even the smallest fragments of waste can be integrated back into standard manufacturing.”

“We want to prove that even the smallest fragments of waste can be integrated back into standard manufacturing.”

“Then we have prototype 2, where we focused on recycled fibres themselves. So here we are working with partners who are transforming these recycled fibres into non-woven mats and then we are integrating these into infusion and pultrusion laminates.”

“Now this isn’t just a basic material, it’s a high performance multi-layer laminate that is going to substitute virgin chopped strand mat which is currently being used.”

“And finally, we bring it all together in one prototype, which is the prototype 3, the deck formwork system.”

Raphael Pleynet (left) and Anurag Bansal at the REFRESH M41 General Assembly.

“Now this is our most ambitious demo because it combines everything. It uses the profiles from demonstrator one and integrates them with compression moulded panels from Gees recycling which are made using shredded blades. Now since formwork is used on almost every construction site, it is a perfect real world test for strength and durability.”

Further information?

Watch the complete presentation on the REFRESH YouTube channel. 

Download the presentation from the Publications page.

The REFRESH workshop From End-of-Life Blades to Circular Products – Technologies, Prototypes and Market Pathways was held on the second day of the project’s M41 General Assembly in Norway.