The REFRESH project is organising a webinar on 17 November to present the progress made in developing innovative technologies for recycling end-of-service wind turbine blades.
The webinar is free to attend and registration is open now.

A circular future for wind energy

The wind energy industry is committed to promoting a circular economy which reduces environmental impacts throughout a wind turbine’s life cycle, including the end-of-life phase. Most components of a wind turbine have established recycling routes, but the rotor blades, which mainly comprise highly durable composite materials, present a complex challenge. Existing recycling solutions for glass fibre reinforced composites are not yet widely available or economically competitive.

WindEurope reports that thousands of smaller wind turbines will reach the end of their operational life in the coming years. By 2030, Europe is expected to generate over 50 kilotonnes of end-of-life blade waste. Around 14,000 blades are projected to be dismantled, amounting to between 40,000 and 60,000 tonnes of material. Scaling up sustainable recycling and repurposing solutions, such as those being developed in REFRESH, is essential to transform these materials into useful new products and applications.

Scaling up recycling technologies for wind turbine blades

The online workshop Scaling up recycling technologies for wind turbine blades will take place on 17th November at 14:00-16:00 CET.

The webinar will present the progress being made by the EU-funded REFRESH project, which is aiming to develop and demonstrate a novel smart, circular system enabling improved recycling of glass fibre reinforced composite materials from turbine blades.

The event will focus on the first part of the REFRESH value chain. Presentations will cover:

Blade preparation for recycling 

  • Smart blade cutting – Jean-Baptiste Strehaiano, Wind Power Business Manager, ETAT9;
  • Shredding and sorting technologies – Dr Guilhem Grimaud, Leader Eco-Innovation, MTB Group.

Composites recycling processes

  • Mechanical recycling – Giorgio Betteto, R&D CTO, Gees Recycling;
  • Pyrolysis – Marcin Rusin, CTO, Gjenkraft;
  • Microwave-assisted pyrolysis – Dr Ignacio Julian, Microwave Technology Manager, CIRCE;
  • Treatment of non-recyclable dust and fines – Jan Kaspar, CTO, Enecolab.

Composites circularity: the regulatory challenges

  • Raphael Pleynet, Managing Director, European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA).

Download the programme here.

A preliminary LCA study has recently highlighted the potential environmental benefits of the REFRESH recycling processes.

REFRESH is also developing a range of products using the recycled materials resulting from these processes, as well as a block chain traceability platform covering the complete value chain. These aspects of the project will be covered in a second webinar in 2026. (Learn more about the REFRESH concept.)

Project coordinator Daniel Grisenti of RINA Consulting will host the meeting and partners ACCIONA, CETMA and TECNALIA will be available to answer questions.

Who should attend?

This webinar is suitable for industry, research and policy professionals interested in learning about the state-of-the-art in recycling composite materials and wind turbine blades. The presentations will offer an overview of each technology in the value chain, the challenges to be addressed, and the innovations REFRESH is developing. FAQs will be discussed and a live Q&A will invite feedback from the audience.

REFRESH is funded under the Horizon Europe programme. The project commenced in January 2023 and will conclude in December 2026.

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