Scottish startup company ReBlade has secured funding from the UK’s national innovation agency to help repurpose wind turbine blades.
The Innovate UK grant will allow the development of a materials testing framework and safety certification regime for decommissioned wind turbine blades.
The framework, to be developed by independent composite experts, will open the door for the UK’s decommissioned turbine blades to be transformed into public realm infrastructure, such as shelters and benches.
The funding was awarded after ReBlade responded to a competitive challenge issued by Innovate UK earlier this year calling for affordable, adoptable, and investible solutions for reducing environmental impact.
The six-month innovation project will conclude in April with plans for the blade-derived items expected to be unveiled in early 2023.
Fiona Lindsay, Technical Director and co-founder of ReBlade, said: “Wind turbine blades are notoriously difficult to recycle and finding uses for them has been a known challenge within the renewables industry for years.
“It’s a challenge I was personally keen to address, because as the first generation wind turbines I helped to put up early in my career start to come down, I want to help find a sustainable solution and a circular end destination for the material.
“I’m delighted that Innovate UK has recognised the potential for circular disposal of these blades by backing this project. Turbine blades are incredibly strong and robust components, and this new research will equip us with structural integrity checks and tests to make informed decisions about the circular potential and reuse viability of each blade.”