According to CNBC, the newly founded company, known as EnergyLOOP, will develop a blade recycling facility in Navarre, located in northern Spain.
Company officials stated that "the initial objective will be the recovery of wind turbine blade components — mostly glass and carbon fibers and resins — and their reuse in sectors such as energy, aerospace, automotive, textiles, chemicals and construction."
EnergyLOOP has been launched by Iberdrola via PERSEO, the company's "international program for startups". The Spanish energy firm said that the new founded company will have support from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, a company that produces wind turbines.
Wind turbine blades recycling has always been an issue for the industry, since the materials used for manufacturing these blades are hard to recycle.
This meant that many blades actually ended in landfills when they reached the end of their lifespan.
Since the adoption of wind turbines is expected to increase in the future, Iberdrola estimates that some 5.700 turbines will be disassembled on a yearly basis in Europe, starting 2030.
Green energy companies are investing in recyclable wind turbine blades in order to create a circular economy within the sector, and in September 2021, Siemens Gamesa released the recyclable wind turbine blades that were "the world's first recyclable wind turbine blades ready for commercial use offshore."
Additionally, in June 2021, Denmark's Orsted, a green energy company, announced that it will "reuse, recycle, or recover" all turbine blades from the wind plants that the company operates worldwide after they are decommissioned.
EnergyLOOP was launched by Iberdrola with support from FCC Ambito, a subsidiary of FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente.
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