EuCIA’s managing director Raphaël Pleynet joined the REFRESH partners in Italy for the second review meeting of this EU-funded project developing circular solutions for end-of-life wind turbine blades.
Raphaël Pleynet presents EuCIA’s communication and dissemination activities
Review meetings are an important part of Horizon Europe projects, allowing project partners to present the progress made so far to external reviewers. This event was hosted by REFRESH partner Gees Recycling and attended by European Commission Project Officer Pablo Vicente and independent expert Rik Voerman.
REFRESH: from end-of-life blade to new products
After three years of intensive work by the 11 partners, REFRESH is truly demonstrating the circularity of composite blades.
Starting from a smart cutting solution (ETAT9) and an efficient shredding and sorting stage (MTB Group), the REFRESH value chain offers optimised recycling approaches (Gees Recycling, Gjenkraft, CIRCE, Enecolab), while an eco-design strategy (CETMA) is opening up a world of possibilities for the recycled products, from construction applications (ACCIONA) to a closed loop solution showcasing the use of recycled blade materials in a new blade.
All processes are supported by comprehensive sustainability analyses (RINA) and a novel blockchain traceability platform (TECNALIA).
EuCIA leads the project’s communication, dissemination and exploitation work package.
New demonstration plants
The meeting provided an opportunity to visit Gees’ new mechanical recycling line, which is currently being commissioned. This will manufacture versatile panels suitable for a broad range of applications in construction and beyond. Virtual tours offered a view of Gjenkraft’s advanced thermal process in Norway, which recovers glass fibre for diverse potential uses, as well as Enecolab’s thermochemical process in Italy, which converts non-recyclable dust and fines into syngas for energy.
The REFRESH team at Gees Recycling’s Aviano plant
We’re delighted to see the partners’ individual achievements, as well as the success of the whole consortium in taking REFRESH from concept to reality. Stay tuned for more project updates over the coming months.
Further information is available on the REFRESH website.
Advancing the circularity of composites
Participating in European research and innovation projects such as REFRESH is one way in which EuCIA promotes and supports the circularity of composite materials. Our latest initiative, the European Circular Composites Alliance (ECCA), was launched this year. With this voluntary alliance we are bringing together stakeholders to drive collective action and advance the circularity of composite materials across Europe. The first ECCA General Assembly takes place in Brussels on 4th December and information about REFRESH will be available
