Stena Recycling awarded for wind turbine blade circularity solution
Stena Recycling, in cooperation with Olin Corporation, Vestas Wind Systems, Aarhus University, and Danish Technological Institute, has been recognized with 2024 Global Innovation Award by JEC Composites in the Renewable Energies category.
The group is rewarded for having developed a solution that enables the recycling of materials from wind turbine blades on a lab scale. Wind turbine blades have previously been challenging to recycle due to the chemical properties of epoxy resin, a resilient substance that was believed to be impossible to break down into re-usable components.
The rewarded solution has been developed as part of the CETEC project, which gathers a coalition of industry and academia established to investigate circular technology for turbine blades. The solution is based on a novel chemical process that breaks down epoxy resin into virgin-grade materials, establishing a circular economy for wind turbine blades. It indicates that today’s wind turbine blades can serve as raw materials for future blades and can also be applied to blades currently in operation. Once matured, this will eliminate the need for blade redesign, or landfill disposal of epoxy-based blades when they are decommissioned.
“We are honored to receive this award, which recognizes an important milestone within wind power. In the coming years, thousands of turbines will be decommissioned or repowered, representing a major sustainability challenge. We see this solution as a huge opportunity to take part in making a sustainable solution even more sustainable and circular and are ready to apply our chemical recycling expertise and knowledge to this process”, says Henrik Grand Petersen, Managing Director of Stena Recycling Denmark.
The JEC World Global Innovation Award is a highly prestigious award in the composites industry that recognizes the world's most innovative composites projects and the most fruitful collaborations between the various players in the value chain. Every year, the JEC Innovation Awards recognize innovative, collaborative, and impactful projects that demonstrate the full potential of composite materials.
”I’m so proud of this achievement of our co-project which shows that innovative partnerships lead to new solutions within composite recycling. Within the co-project with Vestas, we have replicated the CETEC innovation in our own lab and are now exploring upscaling. We are excited about how far we have come – and are proud to continue the development.” says Louise Drue Andersen, co-PM & Wind Segment Manager, Stena Recycling.
Press contacts
Marie Vassiliadis, Communications Manager Stena Metall marie.vassiliadis@stenametall.se mobile: +46 72 163 98 30
About Stena Recycling
Stena Recycling is one of Europe's leading recycling companies, offering comprehensive solutions in recycling and circular services. Every year, around six million tons of waste and end-of-life products are recycled from more than 100,000 customers across a range of industries. By keeping resources in the loop, Stena Recycling plays an important and central role in the transition to a circular economy. Besides actual recycling, Stena Recycling also supports its customers in their development towards sustainable business models through its consulting business Stena Circular Consulting. Stena Recycling is part of the Stena Metall Group. To learn more, please visit www.stenarecycling.com
