REFRESH partner Gjenkraft is presenting its solution for recycling wind turbine blades at WindEnergy Hamburg on 24-27 September 2024.

WindEnergy Hamburg is a leading networking event for the global wind energy sector. Around 1,500 companies from 40 countries will exhibit, including manufacturers and suppliers representing all stages of the onshore and offshore wind energy value chain. Up to 40,000 visitors from 100 different nations are expected to attend.

Key topics for 2024 include turbine technology, digitalisation, supply chain, project development, and policy and regulation, and sustainability. Sustainability, including the sustainable decommissioning and recycling of turbines, is playing an increasingly important role in the wind industry. Establishing a recycling industry for the composite materials that wind turbine blades are manufactured from is an urgent need.

Blade recycling solutions

Gjenkraft AS is a composites recycler located in Norway. In the REFRESH project the company will design and deploy an upgrade to its pilot plant to recycle the composite materials from turbine blades. The company’s advanced thermal treatment process enables the recovery of glass fibres, carbon fibres and synthetic fuels.

“By the end of the project, we aim to have developed and implemented enhancements to our recycling process, resulting in higher quality products,” says Marcin Rusin, Gjenkraft’s CEO. … “We anticipate concluding the project with a diverse array of innovative products, all crafted from materials derived from our recycling process.” (Read the full interview.)

The Gjenkraft team will be available on Stand 515 in Hall A3. Products made using recycled materials will be on display, including a table and skis.

The REFRESH concept

Gjenkraft’s technology is one recycling process being developing in REFRESH. As part of the project, Gees Recycling is upscaling its mechanical recycling process and CIRCE is exploring microwave-assisted thermal and solvothermal processes. Ways to repurpose cut blades into new products are also being investigated.

The REFRESH concept also includes the design of blade dismantling, shredding and materials sorting technologies, a new circular business model, and the development of a novel digital blockchain traceability platform covering the whole supply chain.