Europe commits to recycling end-of-life wind turbine blades

The European wind energy industry has committed to ensuring that end-of-life wind turbine blades are not sent to landfills or incinerated. To support this goal, the EU-funded research project REWIND is developing technologies for the dismantling, recycling, and repurposing of composite waste.

One of the 13 project partners, the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF), is working to transform recycled glass and carbon fibers into yarns and fabrics. These materials can be used for new components, repair kits for wind turbines, or high-value applications such as structural components in the automotive industry.

The consortium has successfully validated a model capable of predicting the mechanical behavior of recovered materials with over 90% accuracy. This precision allows the recycled materials to be used in demanding sectors, including electric vehicle manufacturing and insulation production.