REWIND Team gathered in Laval for the 4th General Assembly

The REWIND team gathered in Laval, Pays de la Loira, France for the fourth General Assembly meeting, hosted by project partner IPC. Representatives from the 14 consortium partners joined both online and in person to discuss ongoing progress and achievements in developing end-of-life treatment soluti...

Over the two-day meeting, held from 28 to 29 April, project partners shared updates on the progress made over the past months and discussed the results achieved during the two years of the project.

REWIND work package updates

The team gathered for a full day of presentations, discussions and networking, welcomed by project coordinator AIMPLAS and project partner IPC The agenda included detailed updates and discussion related to the active work packages:

WP1. Acquisition, analysis, inspection, dismantling and sorting of EoL WTBs; Progress review & six-month action plan by SUEZ/IPC
WP2. Repurpose of EoL composites in automotive and construction sectors; Progress review & six-month action plan by TEKNIKER/HSPF, SUEZ & Miljøskærm.
WP3. Efficient recycling of composites for high added value materials; Progress Reviex & six-month action plan by AIMPLAS.
WP5. Sustainability, circularity, and eco-design; Progress Review & six-month action plan by IPC

The WP1 has achieved the two milestones planned for the first period of the REWIND project.

M1.1 – Availability of non-damaged and dismantled EoL blades for repurposing and recycling by SUEZ. At least 20 m2 of dismantled WTB for initial setups of repurposing and recycling strategies
M1.2 – Robustness of the material model to predict residual mechanical properties of damaged EoL WTB parts by IPC. The comparation between the simulated and the real WTB waste differs less than 10%.

VISIT to IPC

The last activitiy of the first day was a visit to IPC. This provided a valuable opportunity for the team to gain insights into IPC’s expertise in various fields, including composite materials. Experts from the company showcased the “Composites Laboratory” where they work in processes such us RTM (Resin Transfer Molding), thermo-stamping and pultrusion. They also outlined the challenges encountered when applying various methods to assess the percentage of degradation for each area of the composite.

The technology center also has four sites in different locations: Paris, Alençon, Clermont-Ferrand and Bellignat (Headquarters). By sharing their expertise, the IPC team highlighted the importance of cooperation between partners in terms of data availability. This collaboration is essential to support the development of an eco-design tool based on agregation of indicators (environmental, technical, economic, and social) aimed at assisting engineers and designers in guiding end-of-life strategies for composite wind turbine blades.

VISIT to Laval, Mayenne

After a productive day at ICP’s facilities, the team had some free time to explore and walk around the city of Laval.

Laval is an historic French town located in the department of Mayenne in the Pays de la Loire region. The Old Castle, built in the 11th century, is the historic symbol of the town and was the source of its foundation. Overlooking the Mayenne River, it is a perfect example of fortified medieval architecture.

A historic bridge spans the Mayenne River, linking the two banks of the city center. It was the meeting point where the REWIND Team took a group picture to commemorate the trip.

REWIND work package updates (2nd day)

The second day began with updates on the remaining active work packages:

WP4. Revalorization of secondary materials into new composites applications.
WP6. Dissemination, communication and exploitation; Progress Review & six-month action plan by AEMAC and PNO Innovation Italy.
WP7. Project management. Progress Review & six-month action plan by action plan by AIMPLAS

Stay tuned for more news on REWIND upcoming results!

The partners involved in the REWIND Project are: AIMPLAS, TECKNIKER, IPC, Miljøskærm , Hochschule Pforzheim, DIFT, Alke Electric Vehicles, Suez Group, bcircular, Composite Patch, R-Nanolab, CiaoTech (Gruppo PNO) and AEMAC.

Funded by European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Nº101147226