How Tecnalia recycles wind turbines thanks to AI

The Tadeo project is being carried out by the Basque applied research and technological development centre Tecnalia in collaboration with the companies Lezama Demoliciones, Belako Lanak, SBS, Ogerko, Ergoa and Saitec. It aims to develop an advanced technology for disassembling and circularising the composites from end-of-life wind turbine blades.

The process begins with the automated identification of the main blade materials, using computer vision technology, an artificial intelligence technique that enables computers to read images and videos like human beings. After the materials have been separated, sorted and compacted directly at the wind farm, they are transported to recycling facilities. A pyrolysis process using HECO (High Efficiency Contact) technology separates the polymer resins from the recycled fibre, maximising its value for new applications. The recycled fibre concentrate obtained will be validated for use in concrete and other composite materials, both in the laboratory and in semi-industrial environments.

According to David García-Estévez, a researcher at Tecnalia, “in the near future, it should be possible to recycle almost the entire wind turbine”.

The aim of the Tadeo project is to reduce the environmental impact of waste from wind power generation, digitise the recycling and waste treatment sector at the transport, sorting and recycling stages, optimise the recycling processes for composite materials to make them more competitive and scalable at industrial level, recover recycled materials and identify possible uses in different sectors.

Managing wind turbine waste remains a major challenge. According to Tecnalia, around 14,000 blades were dismantled by 2023, accumulating between 40,000 and 60,000 tonnes of composite materials. Unfortunately, a high percentage of this waste was landfilled, a practice now banned in several European countries.

Heading photo: Tecnalia