Innovative projects for a more circular business

From rotor blades to skis   

When Vattenfall decided to dismantle one of its first large wind farms, Irene Vorrink in the Netherlands, around 2020, the challenges were many. Besides the amount of waste, the company had just adopted a new strategy that meant rotor blades could not be landfilled.     

With that said, the company started looking for alternative solutions, which led to a partnership with the Norwegian recycling company Gjenkraft. What began as one of Vattenfall's first pilot projects in circularity and wind power has produced a very concrete result today in the form of skis.    

One of the materials used in the manufacturing of the skis, produced by EVI Ski, is carbon fibre recycled from rotor blades and supplied by Gjenkraft.      

From wind turbine to furnished house    

During Dutch Design Week 2024, Vattenfall showed how a nacelle from a wind turbine can be transformed into a home. The house is 35 square meters in size and, because the nacelle is made of composite made from fiberglass, it is both lightweight and waterproof.   
 
The project is an example of how components from the wind turbine can be reused, reducing the need for energy-intensive recycling processes.    
 
Although the house still looks like a nacelle on the outside, it has been decorated, and interior adaptations have been made to make it function as a home. For example, it is equipped with a heat pump, solar panels and furnished with second-hand furniture and materials.  

Building a car park using rotor blades    

In the university town of Lund in southern Sweden, rotor blades from a decommissioned wind farm will become a visible part of the façade of an eco-friendly car park.    

The rotor blades used are from the Danish onshore wind farm Nørre Økse Sø, which was decommissioned in 2023. In the search for opportunities to reuse or recycle the blades, the idea of using them as part of the facade of a car park was conceived.

The blades will be used to create curtain walls, or non-structural walls, which must be left open for safety reasons. Architect Jonas Lloyd wanted to create what is known as visible sustainability. The aim was to construct a building where it is obvious to people that the blades of the wind turbines have been used in the façade. 

The rotor blades have now been stored and will be integrated into the Swedish car park, which is expected to be completed in 2025.      

Better recyclable rotor blades in wind farms   

The fact that rotor blades are difficult to recycle is largely because they contain the two-component material resin. Resin requires both high temperatures and pressure to break down. This is an energy-intensive process that degrades the material's properties and makes it more difficult to recycle.   
 
As part of its circularity efforts, Vattenfall has now chosen to start working with rotor blades that are easier to recycle. Currently, three sets of RecyclableBlades from Siemens Gamesa are in use in the Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm, which was the number available in 2022.   
  
Siemens Gamesa's rotor blades are easier to recycle and use a resin type that dissolves in a low-temperature, mildly acidic solution.

This kind of resin makes it easier to separate the other components of the blade such as fibreglass, carbon fibre, plastic, wood, and metal - without significantly affecting their properties. This, in turn, makes the components easier to recycle and can then be used in new products. 

HYBRIT - fossil-free steel in collaboration with SSAB   

HYBRIT (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology) started as a joint project between SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall in 2016 and today serves as a global model for sustainable steel production.  

The initiative aimed to develop the first value chain for fossil-free steel, produced with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen. The goal is to reduce Sweden's carbon emissions by at least 10 percent.   
 
As recently as January this year, Vattenfall, the steel company SSAB, and the mining company LKAB received an award for their work on HYBRIT at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Together, they were one of five winners of the ‘Moving Force in Business’ award presented during the GEAA gala.   

Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) is a World Economic Forum initiative that recognises pioneering partnerships working to address global climate and nature challenges with innovative, scalable solutions.    

Fossileye - the eye that looks for plastic

Before waste is incinerated, it is important to filter out all plastics as they cause carbon dioxide emissions. To facilitate this work, Vattenfall, together with Tekniska Verken in Linköping and Umeå Energi, has produced an ‘eye’ that makes it easier to sort and recycle plastic.   

What the three organisations have developed together is a digital eye called Fossileye. With the help of the eye, the tool can quickly determine what is made of plastic and what type of plastic it is.    

The technology has been developed by the company RoboWaste and was tested at the three companies' waste incinerators in 2023-2024.