Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA of Germany and Taiwan-based Swancor Holding Co (上緯投控), a developer of green recycling material, have launched a strategic partnership to develop recyclable wind turbine blades as part of their commitment to supplying environmentally friendly products.
In a statement released on Friday, Swancor said the two partners’ recycling solutions are expected to fulfill the concept of a green circular economy and hit a milestone for environment, social and governance (ESG) actions toward carbon neutrality and new materials innovations.
They are to focus on efforts to recover and recycle components of wind turbine blades after they are decommissioned, Swancor said.
Photo courtesy of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA
The recovered materials, resins and glass fibers can be used in other applications, while the recycling process would not produce waste solvents and waste gas, as it has a low-carbon footprint, which would resolve challenges that arise from landfill disposal or incineration, it added.
Swancor’s efforts in developing recyclable thermosetting epoxy resin, used to make the turbine blades, is undergoing supplier qualification at Siemens Gamesa.
Swancor hopes to supply the German firm with its “EzCiclo” recyclable thermosetting epoxy resin and “CleaVER” degradation liquid, it said in a statement.
For its part, Siemens Gamesa led its peers in launching the first recyclable wind turbine blade in the world in September last year and has received orders from energy suppliers such as RWE AG, EDF Renewables, wpd AG and Vattenfall in Europe.
At the end of this year, the construction of RWE’s Kaskasi offshore wind farm in Germany is scheduled to be completed, and it would be the first offshore wind farm in the world to introduce Siemens Gamesa’s recyclable wind turbine blades.
Siemens Gamesa has also signed an agreement to install equipment to produce 3 gigawatts of offshore wind power in Taiwan.
Swancor, which began research and development of recyclable thermosetting epoxy resin in 2015, said the recyclable blade technologies aim to help Taiwan reach the goal of using fully recyclable wind turbine blades as it develops offshore wind energy.
“Our goal is to provide customers with fully recyclable solutions for the components of wind turbines,” Niels Steenberg, general manager of Siemens Gamesa Offshore for Asia-Pacific, said in the statement.
“Through the cooperation with Swancor, the recyclable blade resin technology allows the blade resin, glass fiber and carbon fiber to be recycled and reused. We aim at creating a sustainable blade resin life cycle which will become a strong steppingstone for Taiwan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” Steenberg said.
Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑), the flagship entity of the Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), is Swancor’s strategic partner in related recyclable solutions.
Siemens Gamesa signed an agreement with Swancor for the Taiwanese manufacturer to supply recyclable wind turbine blade resin in 2018, the first of its kind in Taiwan.
In the statement, the German company said Swancor’s supplies of resin in the 2018 agreement have been used in 20 offshore wind turbines in Taiwan, helping the country to locally produce materials for wind energy development.
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