Circularity

The transition to a circular economy is an opportunity, and renewable energy is an important piece of the puzzle in driving the circular economy forward. As an energy producer, we therefore have an important role to play in this transition.

Sustainable resource management is one of our key priorities and we constantly strive to optimise the use of resources in our operations and value chain. We have been using life cycle assessments for more than 25 years and they are an important tool in our environmental work.

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Helle Herk-Hansen, Vattenfall Head of Environment, talks about circular economy.

Transforming to a more circular business

Vattenfall is committed to expanding our renewable energy portfolio to achieve our net-zero emissions target in 2040. Circularity is a key enabler to reduce the environmental impact of building new assets. By reducing the use of virgin materials, circularity results in less mining and processing of raw materials and the associated CO₂ emissions and impacts on local biodiversity.

To further improve our work, we have developed a circular economy framework for 2030, focusing on four areas. Our circular economy framework is the foundation that we will build on over time by adding new targets, collecting more data to monitor processes and identifying new key activities.

Four focus areas:

Circular targets

Vattenfall has set circular outflow targets for permanent magnets and composite materials for our wind assets: 

Circular principles are an integrated part of our environmental management. Our environmental policy and environmental management system steer with a high focus on resource efficiency and we design our assets for a long service life.

We aim to increase the use of recycled materials, thereby moving away from virgin resources. Components and materials that have reached their end of life are managed using the logic of the waste hierarchy: prevent, reduce, reuse, recycle, and lastly disposal, as the least preferred option. 

Below is a selection of examples of how Vattenfall has implemented circularity:  

Wind turbine blades turned to skis

Blades are difficult to recycle because of the material composition and available recycling technologies. As part of our commitment to a 100% circular outflow of composite materials from wind turbines by 2030, we have explored various blade recycling technologies.

In collaboration with the innovative Norwegian recycling company Gjenkraft, blade material was recycled into skis in 2024. Gjenkraft recycled the carbon fibre from the blades to high quality carbon fibres, which were then used by EVI to produce alpine skis that meet industry standards while reducing environmental impact.

Reusing substation buildings 

Vattenfall Eldistribution owns thousands of substations and is constantly investing to ensure a stable electricity delivery. However, new construction has a significant impact on the climate and the environment. Reusing and upgrading existing buildings instead of building new substations is a more complex process. It requires experience, collaboration, problem-solving skills, and proper documentation. In addition, there is a lack of a clear strategy for reuse when planning new substations.

To address these issues, a pilot project was launched in early 2024 to explore the reuse of substation buildings. The project involves seven substations and focuses on gaining insight into environmental, economic and organisational factors. Continuous evaluation will help develop guidelines and criteria to support future circular construction initiatives.

Circular system for heat generation in Bristol 

By harnessing the latent heat from Bristol's historic floating harbour, Vattenfall is extending Bristol's heat network and replacing the need for individual carbon-intensive boiler systems. Vattenfall Heat UK is committed to removing all new permanent fossil fuel assets from operation and phasing out all existing gas-fired assets in Bristol by 2030. As part of this commitment, Vattenfall operates one of England’s largest harbour-based water source heat pumps at Castle Park Energy Centre.

Reuse and recycling of IT equipment

Vattenfall has a long-term partnership with IT recycling companies Inrego and AFB to optimise the reuse and recycling of IT equipment. In 2024, 6,200 products from our offices in Sweden, Poland, Denmark and the UK were sent to our partner for reuse. This resulted in a CO₂ saving of approximately 720 tonnes, as calculated by IVL, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, using their scientifically based model.

In Germany, AFB is the partner that takes back and reuses the IT equipment. In 2024, 4,850 IT and mobile devices were processed, saving 725 tonnes of CO₂. The CO₂ savings were calculated by TU Berlin, myclimate and Star Cooperation.