Coatings World staff09.25.20
The ZEBRA (Zero wastE Blade ReseArch) consortium, a project of excellence aiming to create the first 100% recyclable wind turbine, was recently launched – and Arkema is at the heart of it alongside Canoe, Engie, LM Wind Power, Owens Corning and Suez, and to contribute to the development of environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions for wind power with its high-performance materials.
With its Elium thermoplastic liquid resin and its structural adhesives, Arkema offers an innovation in the composites market, opening up new perspectives in many sectors, and especially in the production of wind turbine blades.
The Elium resin-based composite parts can be used on the same production lines as those currently used for composite parts based on thermosetting resins. They are also 100 percent recyclable.
With this ZEBRA project, which focuses on developing and optimizing each stage of the manufacturing process, the wind energy sector is aiming for 100 percent recyclability.
Arkema’s Elium thermoplastic resin will enable the wind energy sector to take a major step forward, in particular by enabling to include this criterion in the tender specifications.
Furthermore, the ability to chemically recycle the resin enables it to be used “ad infinitum,” preserving the same properties as virgin resin.
“Recycling end-of-life wind turbines is a major industrial and environmental challenge for the wind power industry, due to the considerable volumes involved. Being at the heart of the ZEBRA project, thanks to our expertise and our wide range of polymers for composites, we are contributing to the performance of the wind energy sector by aligning it with an operational circularity approach,” said Guillaume Clédat, global sales and development director for Elium resin.
