“This is tangible proof that full circularity for wind energy is possible,” says Marcin Rusin, CEO of Gjenkraft AS. “We have now moved from laboratory testing to a real component that demonstrates how recycled fibres can be used in new blades. It demonstrates the power of European collaboration – where technology, innovation and sustainability truly come together.”

Refresh is currently scaling up the recycling processes, focusing on designing products with the recovered materials, under the direction of research and technology centre CETMA. The reprocessing of recycled fibres into nonwoven mats is among the promising approaches studied. Textile machinery manufacturer Cormatex’s airlay/thermobonding technology was used to manufacture the nonwoven mat. This technology relies on the adhesive effect of a thermoplastic binder, which can be beneficial for thermally recycled fibres which may become brittle after exposure to high temperatures. Airlay/thermobonding enables the production of mats including up to 90-95% recycled fibre content by weight.

“This is one of the few recent examples of a wind turbine blade section that has been manufactured using recycled materials recovered from end-of-life wind turbine blades,” reports Andrea Tinti of CETMA. “This result clearly highlights the strength of collaboration within the Refresh consortium and the successful construction of a new circular value chain, bringing together partners with complementary expertise from different industrial sectors.”

Luca Querci, Managing Director, Cormatex, said: “We are excited to see this excellent result of the Refresh project. This is the confirmation that our innovative Airlay technology “Lap formair H” is perfectly suitable for processing special fibres such as glass fibre and carbon fibre and that it can fruitfully contribute to recycling processes of glass fibre or carbon fibre composite materials. We look forward to the new market opportunities that this outstanding result is developing for our special technology!”

The mechanical properties of recycled glass fibre comparable to those of virgin glass fibre

CETMA tested the use of the vacuum infusion process to produce the mat. The results were rather positive, composite laminates using the recycled glass fibre mat demonstrating mechanical properties close to those of laminates manufactured using commercial virgin glass fibre mats with similar characteristics.

To evaluate the suitability of recycled glass fibres to produce new blades, ÉireComposites manufactured a section of a blade tip using vacuum infusion. The top and bottom shells were produced separately, one employing triaxial glass fibre in the inner and outer skins and the other using the recycled glass fibre mat. CETMA is currently conducting additional assessment work to evaluate the mechanical performance of the parts of the blades made with recycled glass fibres.

Conor Kelly, Engineering Manager, ÉireComposites, said: “We are impressed by the quality and finish of the skin section reinforced with the recycled glass fibre mat. This shows great potential to replace virgin glass fibre in non-structural wind blade components and is a step closer to making circular blades a reality.”

Besides, CETMA is exploring the use of recycled glass fibre in 3D printed concrete structures with Tecnalia and designing new products from precisely cut blade parts in collaboration with ETAT9. Life cycle assessment and life cycle costing analyses are conducted by Rina Consulting. As for the secondary raw materials resulting from the Refresh mechanical recycling process, CETMA is developing applications using them with Gees Recycling.

It is the first time that a wind turbine blade section has been made partly from recycled fibres recovered from decommissioned blades, marking a new chapter for the renewable energy sector, in which sustainability now extends beyond energy production to encompass materials and manufacturing.

The CETMA will be present at JEC World 2026. Cormatex will exhibit on booth 5E79.