Task 45: Recycling Wind Turbine Blades

Objectives

Despite years of research on wind turbine blade recycling, large scale solutions remain scarce, and many countries still lack viable end of life options for blades. Key challenges persist, including the technical difficulty of recycling glass fiber thermoset composites, the economic competitiveness of landfill in several regions, and the lack of reliable methods to assess future waste volumes. These factors continue to hinder the development and implementation of sustainable recycling value chains.

Phase I of the IEA Wind Task 45 identified four central barriers to large scale blade recycling:

1. unreliable predictions of future waste volumes,
2. insufficient and inconsistent data on blade materials,
3. fragmented and misaligned legislation, and
4. significant technical and economic challenges in scaling recycling technologies.

It also revealed duplication of research efforts and highlighted the need for a coordinated international knowledge hub. These findings directly shaped the design of Task 45 Phase II.

The objectives are:

1. to formulate a new recommended practice on the recycling of wind turbine blades (the targeted audience is the wind turbine owners, DNV and the IEC);
2. to predict volume of wind turbine blade waste predicted for Europe and Guidelines for the calculation of future waste;
3. to propose a Cost model predicting the cost involved at end-of-life;
4. to write a roadmap on wind turbine blade recycling technologies;

The expected outcomes include a new Recommended Practice for wind turbine blade recycling to support future international standardization efforts; robust waste volume predictions, accompanied by guidelines and templates for consistent data collection; and a cost model to assess the economic viability of recycling processes. In addition, Phase II will deliver an updated recycling technology roadmap developed jointly with VDMA, and it will strengthen global collaboration through conferences, webinars, working group activities, and the creation of a meta database knowledge hub consolidating international information on blade recycling.

Participation

The international dimension of the IEA Wind TCP framework continues to be one of Task 45's greatest strengths. By bringing together expertise from different regions and disciplines, Task 45 remains the only coordinated international initiative dedicated specifically to wind turbine blade end of life solutions. The industry participation, the universities and associations involved in Task 45 Phase 2 are presented in Table 1.

Progress, Results, and Impact in 2025

Building on the gaps identified during Phase 1, the IEA Wind Task 45 continued its work on the recycling of wind turbine blades, the first year of its second four year phase. Besides the management activities in WP1, the activities in the IEA Wind Task 45 are divided among three work packages. WP2 looked into recycling and materials technologies, , WP3 analysed the recycling value chain and WP4 was dedicated to the standards and legislations framing the end of life of blades and the recycling activities. In 2025, three workshops were held online or in-person, one deliverable was published and one webinar was organized, the outcome of these can be found on our website.

In 2025, Work Package 2 concentrated on the technical barriers to recycling, with a focus on developing robust predictions of end of life blade volumes. Subtask 2.1, coordinated by WindEurope, delivered an updated methodology and forecast for upcoming blade waste in Europe (Deliverable 2.1). This work provides essential data for recycling industries, OEMs, wind farm owners, and policymakers planning future end of life strategies. Figure 1 is included in Deliverable 2.1 and shows the forecast of annual decommissioned blade mass in Europe in tonnes. The deliverable also includes:

• Total predicted mass of decommissioned blades in Europe over the coming decades.
• Country and market specific breakdowns for major wind markets (e.g., Germany, Denmark, Spain, US regions, etc.).
• A methodological framework detailing the assumptions and data sources used for volume forecasting (e.g., turbine retirement age, repowering trends, dismantling rates).

In parallel, Task 45 strengthened industry knowledge exchange and outreach through Work Package 3. A series of workshops addressed the status of blade recycling technologies, the implications of waste legislation and duty of care, and the information investors require to support circular business models. These events helped clarify the current maturity of recycling processes, the regulatory and economic barriers to scale up, and the data needs of both regulators and financial actors. Participants from industry, academia, and public agencies contributed actively to these discussions, helping shape the priorities for further research and policy development.

Work Package 4 advanced the preparation of a Recommended Practice (RP) for blade recycling and deepened coordination with international standardization efforts. Throughout 2025, participants defined the scope and structure of the Recommended Practice, agreed on RP that are technology agnostic and identified four core chapters covering value chain assessment, blade material passports and data sharing, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) modelling, and grading of end of life pathways. Surveys and workshops informed these priorities, and collaboration with IEC working groups and IEA Wind Task 60 ensured alignment on data requirements and LCA methodologies. Data sharing and the blade material passport were selected as the first chapters to be developed based on stakeholder consensus.

In 2025, the first active year of Task 45 Phase II, the work shifted from identifying barriers to directly addressing them through a more integrated and multidisciplinary structure. Building on the foundation established in Phase I, Task 45 advanced activities across technical, economic, policy, and communication domains. Key achievements included the delivery of an updated prediction of end of life blade waste volumes, the launch of the recommended practices document.

Task 45 continued to operate as a structured platform for international collaboration, engaging industry, researchers, public authorities, and associations across Europe and the United States. The Task held biannual meetings, with the annual meeting sessions used to present new deliverables, refine the scope of the forthcoming Recommended Practice, and facilitate technical workshops involving recyclers, OEMs, policymakers, and researchers. Workshops and webinars deepened understanding of current recycling practices, regulatory responsibilities, and investor information needs. These sessions reinforced Task 45's role as a central hub for sector-wide insights, helping align expectations between technology developers, operators, and regulators.

Next Steps

In 2026, Task 45 will continue advancing the work initiated in Phase II by further developing the key deliverables across technical, policy, economic, and communication areas. Priority will be given to completing the first chapter of the recommended practices (WP4) dedicated to Blade Material Passport and data sharing framework, expanding industry engagement through targeted workshops, and integrating stakeholder feedback. WP2 will support this first chapter by working on data needed for the recycling of wind turbine blades. In parallel, the Task will continue to build the knowledge hub meta database, ensuring updated and consistent information is accessible to all stakeholders. Biannual meetings, webinars, and working group sessions will support these next steps and maintain the strong international cooperation central to Task 45.