Innovative institute is making new recyclable resin for wind turbines

A consortium comprising of industry, government, and academic institutions is developing a new resin to be used for wind turbines.

The resin that is currently used for the fibreglass on wind turbines requires a lot of energy usage to create it, and is not recyclable.

The Institute for Advanced Composite Manufacturing Innovation is working on a new resin to be used on turbines, cars, compressed gas storage tanks, aeroplanes, and sports goods.

When a wind turbine has reached its life expectancy, after about 20 years, more elements of the structure will be recyclable.

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“What better application to look at than wind power, where we think about energy and sustainability foremost in our minds? It’s a grand challenge in composites manufacturing,” commented Doug Adams, Professor of Civil Environment Engineering at Vanderbilt University.

“This composite materials technology is exciting because it closes the loop on sustainability in wind energy,” he added.

The resin, dubbed Elium, has been provided by industry partner Arkema and can be cured at room temperature without damaging fibreglass, as well as creating its own heat.