Project description
Recycling old wind turbine blades
The rapid growth in wind power generation will eventually result in tens of thousands of tonnes of blade debris. This is why recycling wind turbine blades is important. In this context, the EU-funded REFRESH project will develop and demonstrate a circular, smart system for improved recycling (at least 90 %) of glass fiber-reinforced composites derived from wind turbine dismantling or reblading. While focusing on the mechanical and thermal treatment of waste, it will involve the entire reverse circular value chain: from end-of-life blades to a wide range of remanufactured products. Overall, the project will increase awareness among stakeholder communities across Europe.
Objective
REFRESH aims to develop and demonstrate a novel circular, smart system for an improved recycling (>90%) of glass fiber-reinforced composites derived from wind turbine dismantling or reblading, with high purity level. The project will focus on the mechanical and thermal treatment of waste, but it will strongly involve the entire reverse circular value chain: from end-of-life blades to a wide range of re-manufactured products.
REFRESH proposes a flexible re-manufacturing line: when a wind-blade is decommissioned, it will be performed a selection of optimal recycling process according to the technical condition of the blade and current market demand; this will be achieved by using a dedicated tracking tool for collecting, protecting and sharing information and an embedded decision-making tool software for selecting time by time the most sustainable approach to recycling.
The project will focus on the most robust and mature mechanical treatments, where composites are grinded in various size and used as new raw material to create multifunctional panels for automotive, marine applications, home furniture, civil construction. The project will design and deploy an up-scaled process, starting from the already available remanufacturing line of GEES Recycling (Aviano, Italy). Another robust and proven process is the thermal technology, here proposed by Gjenkraft, that allow also to recover long and “clean” fibers, without matrix, having properties comparable with the one of virgin fibers. The holistic approach developed within the project will be validated by means of LCA/LCC/health-safety analysis. The project will finally contribute to the increase of awareness among stakeholder communities through direct engagement, aimed at replicating the solution in Europe and guarantee a capillary presence of treatment plants.
The novel REFRESH approach will allow potential savings of virgin raw materials of 22 and 52 Mton after 5 and 8 years from project end respectively.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes recycling
- engineering and technology materials engineering fibers
- engineering and technology materials engineering composites
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering vehicle engineering automotive engineering
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes remanufacturing
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.2.5.2 - Energy Supply
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
16129 GENOVA
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.