CircularBlade: Innovative Recycling and Upcycling of Wind Turbine Blade Composites for Sustainable Materials

The rapid expansion of wind energy creates an increasingly urgent challenge: managing the growing volume of end-of-life wind turbine blades. These large composite structures, primarily consisting of glass-fiber-reinforced polymers and thermosetting resins, are difficult to recycle using conventional technologies. Developing economically viable and environmentally sustainable recycling solutions is therefore essential to establishing a circular economy in the renewable energy sector.

CircularBlade aims to develop and validate innovative technologies for recycling, recovering, and upcycling composite materials from decommissioned wind turbine blades, transforming waste into valuable secondary raw materials and functional products.

The project will explore a combination of mechanical, thermal, and chemical recycling approaches, with particular emphasis on preserving the properties of recovered reinforcement fibers and maximizing the value of recycled materials.

Research Objectives

The proposed research will focus on:

1. Advanced recycling technologies: Developing and optimizing efficient processes for separating and recovering reinforcement fibers and polymer-derived materials from end-of-life wind turbine blades.

2. Materials characterization: Applying advanced electron microscopy and complementary analytical techniques to investigate the microstructure, chemical composition, degradation mechanisms, and properties of recovered materials.

3. Upcycling and material development: Designing new composite materials and functional products incorporating recovered fibers and recycled constituents for potential industrial applications.

4. Environmental and economic assessment: Evaluating the sustainability, energy efficiency, environmental impact, and economic feasibility of the proposed recycling technologies through life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis.

5. Technology validation: Demonstrating the feasibility of selected recycling and upcycling approaches at laboratory or pilot scale, with the potential for future industrial implementation.

Consortium and Partnership Opportunities

The project is being initiated by a Polish consortium comprising two major universities and a research organization, bringing together complementary expertise in materials science, engineering, advanced characterization, and sustainable technologies.

We are currently seeking international research and industrial partners interested in contributing expertise in one or more of the following areas:

• Composite materials and polymer engineering.

• Recycling technologies and waste valorization.

• Wind energy technologies and end-of-life management.

• Sustainable materials development and industrial applications.

• Environmental assessment, circular economy, and technology commercialization.

We particularly welcome partners with experience in composite recycling, access to end-of-life wind turbine blade materials, pilot-scale processing facilities, or industrial implementation.

Expected Outcomes and Impact

CircularBlade is expected to deliver innovative recycling processes, improved understanding of the structure–property relationships of recovered materials, and demonstrator products incorporating recycled composite constituents.

The project will contribute to reducing composite waste, improving resource efficiency, and supporting the transition toward more sustainable wind energy technologies.

By combining expertise across institutions and disciplines, the consortium aims to establish a long-term international research partnership and create a foundation for future collaborative projects and industrial applications.

Call for Partners

With the upcoming POLNORIS funding opportunity and the proposal submission deadline approaching in mid-December, we invite interested universities, research institutes, and industrial organizations to contact us to discuss potential collaboration and participation in the consortium.