A 110-metre blade produced from recyclable EzCiclo resin

Currently, Taiwan-based Swancor has a series of mature products including EzCiclo recyclable thermosetting epoxy infusion resin, hand lay-up resin, pultrusion resin and structural adhesives, which are used in blade shells, spars, bodies and other components. Wind turbine blade composite components made from EzCiclo are biodegradable and recyclable after their service life. Using CleaVER technology, waste is transformed into recycled fibres and resin oligomers, which can then be reused in new blade manufacturing or other industrial applications.

Swancor’s primary geographical market is Europe, with its largest customer being Siemens Gamesa. But beyond Times New Materials, the company already counts several customers in China. In December 2024, with the signing of a “Joint Cooperation Agreement on Promoting Circular Economy and Recycling of All Wind Turbine Resources“, Swancor, Goldwind and Sinoma Blade (a subsidiary of CNBM Group) committed to jointly promoting the development of a green circular economy in the wind energy sector. Earlier in March 2023, Swancor cooperated with Mingyang Smart Energy to launch a large-scale blade using its EzCiclo recyclable thermosetting resin in Inner Mongolia.

Complete system of green materials

For its part, Times New Materials, a subsidiary of China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC), the country’s largest railway vehicle and equipment manufacturer, says that the 110-metre-long blade is “its first fully recyclable wind turbine blade, and this marks another important advancement for the company in the field of large-megawatt offshore wind turbine blades and green circular technology, providing reliable practice and technical support for the industry’s low-carbon and resource-based development.”

The company underlines that the 110-metre-long blade rolled off the production line this time adopts a carbon fibre and glass fibre composite reinforcement system, combining lightweight, high stiffness and high power generation efficiency. This blade incorporates a complete system of green materials, including highly efficient dissociable recyclable infusion resin, structural adhesive and hand lay-up resin. While meeting the requirements for long-term strength, stiffness and fatigue performance, it can achieve efficient separation of resin and fibre after decommissioning, effectively solving the common industry problem of difficult recycling and high disposal costs of traditional thermosetting composite materials.

This blade further improves the industry’s large-megawatt recyclable blade technology and mass production capabilities. Through reversible chemical dissociation technology, materials can be efficiently separated under mild conditions. The depolymerised and recycled resin can be directly used in the manufacture of products such as hand lay-up resin and epoxy flooring. The strength retention rate of the recycled glass fibre is over 90%, which can be widely used in fields such as glass fibre mat and crack-resistant mortar.

This technical approach can effectively reduce the pressure of solid waste disposal for retired blades, reduce the carbon footprint throughout the entire life cycle, align with China’s “dual carbon” strategic goals and meet the requirements of international green regulations such as the EU CSRD, providing a safer, more environmentally friendly and more competitive blade solution for offshore megawatt wind turbines, Times New Materials concludes.

Cover photo: The 110-metre-long new blade using EzCiclo recyclable materials, developed in collaboration between Swancor and Times New Materials, a subsidiary of China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC) (source: Swancor)