Project repurposes decommissioned wind turbine blades for EV components
Last update on Jul 9, 2026
Formulators and engineers evaluating recycled composite materials now have a new source to consider: decommissioned wind turbine blades, until recently regarded as one of the most challenging waste streams of the energy transition.
Through the European REWIND project, more than 20 square meters of recovered wind turbine blade sections – equivalent to the surface area of two family cars – have been repurposed for applications including electric vehicle components and insulation materials. The consortium has also validated a model that predicts the mechanical behavior of recovered materials with more than 90% accuracy.
Aims to reduce landfill disposal
These results arrive as the European wind sector moves toward eliminating landfill disposal of decommissioned blades. According to WindEurope, a voluntary industry ban on sending these structures to landfill has been in force across the sector since January 1, 2026.
By extending the lifespan of composite materials and converting waste into industrial resources, REWIND aims to reduce landfill disposal and incineration while advancing a more circular, efficient and sustainable European wind industry.
The project is coordinated by AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, and brings together research and technology centers, universities, industrial companies and sector associations from across Europe to develop solutions across the full value chain of end-of-life wind turbine blades. Participants include Tekniker, IPC, Miljøskærm, Hochschule Pforzheim, DITF, Alke, Suez, BCircular, Composite Patch, R-Nano, PNO Innovation Italy and AEMAC.
Model demonstrated excellent mechanical behavior
In its first two years, REWIND reached two technical milestones relevant to formulators and engineers assessing recycled composite feedstocks.
The first milestone, led by SUEZ, secured a supply of undamaged, dismantled end-of-life (EoL) wind turbine blades for repurposing and recycling, providing more than 20 m² of blade sections for the initial validation of the project's circular strategies.
The second milestone, led by IPC, validated a material model designed to predict the residual mechanical properties of damaged EoL wind turbine blade components. According to IPC, the model showed less than a 10% deviation between simulated results and the actual mechanical behavior of the tested blade sections.
The consortium will next focus on scaling up the technologies developed, validating industrial demonstrators and supporting market uptake of circular solutions for wind turbine composites.
Project progress
SUEZ has developed and validated dismantling technologies and implemented non-destructive material identification methods that support the classification, reuse and recycling of composite materials.
Tekniker has advanced cutting optimization software and long-fiber delamination technologies capable of producing continuous composite tapes – opening options for engineers considering direct reuse of large blade sections.
Miljøskærm is developing thermal insulation materials made from recycled glass fibers, combining thermal and acoustic performance with structures designed to minimize biological activity – a specification formulator in the insulation segment can factor into material selection.
Alke is demonstrating direct reuse of blade components by integrating repurposed composite panels into electric vehicle cargo compartments, while DITF has produced unidirectional fabrics based on recycled glass fiber yarns for future composite applications.
Composite recycling to maximize resin recovery and preserve fiber quality
REWIND is also progressing recycling technologies capable of recovering secondary raw materials.
AIMPLAS is leading development of mechanical pre-treatment, material separation, catalytic pyrolysis and solvolysis processes to maximize resin recovery while preserving fiber quality.
BCircular is scaling up its pyrolysis technology and integrating catalytic systems intended to enable production of recycled fibers for industrial applications.
R-Nano is characterizing and improving the performance of recovered fibers through surface analysis and sizing strategies, while Composite Patch is defining performance requirements and assessing the environmental and economic sustainability of recycled composite repair solutions.
Supporting future circular economy policies
Beyond technology development, REWIND is generating knowledge to support future circular economy policies and industrial deployment.
Hochschule Pforzheim has quantified the future availability of end-of-life wind turbine blades in Europe and is developing electropulse fragmentation technologies to obtain secondary materials for advanced recycling processes.
IPC is developing predictive models to evaluate the residual mechanical properties of composite blade sections and leads the project's Sustainability, Circularity and Eco-design activities, providing Life Cycle Sustainability Assessments to help identify end-of-life strategies.
PNO Innovation Italy is leading stakeholder engagement and exploitation activities, analyzing market opportunities, innovation ecosystems and intellectual property strategies to maximize the long-term impact and industrial uptake of the project's results.
AEMAC is promoting REWIND's results across the European composites and wind energy communities and facilitating knowledge transfer between research organizations, industry, policymakers and society.
Together, these results indicate that end-of-life wind turbine blades can become secondary resources for formulators and engineers, moving Europe closer to a circular wind energy sector.
REWIND (Efficient Decommissioning, Repurposing and Recycling to Increase the Circularity of End-of-Life Wind Energy Systems) is funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 101147226.