Project Portugal 2030

Summary

Currently, the wind energy sector's contribution to achieving carbon neutrality as quickly as possible is undeniable. In 2023, the wind turbine blade market was valued at more than US$88.47 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.9% between 2024 and 2032. The manufacturing of wind blades generates a significant amount of waste, including fibreglass mats, roving fabric, resin discs, distribution hoses, resin spiral hoses, vacuum bag film, infusion material residues and surplus material, so solutions for the use of this waste are of paramount importance. The annual global cost of metallic corrosion alone is staggering. According to some estimates by the World Corrosion Organisation, the global cost of corrosion (taking into account maintenance, prevention, replacement of parts and interruption of service due to maintenance) is US$2.2 trillion per year, more than 3% of the world's gross domestic product. With this in mind, it is very common in cities to see multiple corrosion points on urban furniture and equipment, such as benches, bins, road signs or manhole covers, affecting their use and safety. Composites have been successfully used in many sectors, such as aerospace, construction and infrastructures, automotive, wind energy, defense, maritime and sports and recreation, due to their unique characteristics, namely, excellent mechanical properties, high durability (corrosion resistance), lightness, ease of use and virtually endless variety of shapes. Furthermore, several studies have proved that the use of composite materials yields to more sustainable and resilient solutions, compared to traditional materials, e.g. metallic alloys or concrete. Bearing this context in mind, the CirWind project has two main objectives: (i) to increase the sustainability of urban furniture and equipment, and (ii) to contribute to the reduction of waste generated by the wind energy sector. In order to achieve these two main objectives, the following sectoral objectives have been defined: 1. To conceive and design different proposals for urban furniture and equipment; 2. To evaluate different thermoplastic and thermosetting resins, from a mechanical and recyclability point of view, to be used as the matrix of the composites; 3. To develop optimisation solutions for the use of fibreglass mat waste from wind turbine blades in the proposed urban furniture and equipment; 4. To investigate the use of wind turbine blade waste as a core material for sandwich panels; 5. To investigate different manufacturing processes of urban furniture and equipment; 6. To evaluate the mechanical and durability performance of the developed urban furniture and equipment; 7. Evaluate the recyclability and carry out life cycle analyses of the urban furniture and equipment developed; 8. Carry out some pilot tests of the urban furniture and equipment developed; 9. To develop design recommendations for further possible solutions in this context; 10. Develop stakeholder engagement activities around the proposed solutions.