Renewi works with TNO and partners on research into recycling wind turbine blades

Update on the CIRCLE4WIN project

Moerdijk, 6 July 2026 - Since February 2025, Renewi has been working with TNO and other partners on the CIRCLE4WIN project. The project focuses on developing a high-quality recycling solution for wind turbine blades and will run until 2028. Important first steps have already been taken towards a circular application for this complex waste stream.

Wind turbine blades urgently require a new recycling solution

Wind power is growing rapidly across Europe. In the Netherlands, offshore wind farms are becoming increasingly central to the energy transition. As a result, the question of what happens at the end of a wind turbine’s life cycle is becoming ever more relevant. While around 90 percent of a wind turbine is already recycled, the composite blades remain a challenge due to their complex material composition.

The challenge will only become greater in the years ahead, as increasing numbers of wind turbines reach the end of their operational life. The European wind industry has committed itself to a landfill ban, while procurement criteria in the Netherlands and across Europe are increasingly requiring wind farm owners to demonstrate a clear end-of-life strategy before projects are awarded.

Collaboration across the entire value chain

The CIRCLE4WIN project shows that circularity only works when the entire value chain is involved. Manufacturers, dismantling companies, recyclers and raw material processors all depend on one another to deliver a viable solution.

Within this collaboration, Renewi contributes by:

• developing solutions for the pre-treatment of wind turbine blades;
• scaling up thermolysis recycling;
• enabling industrial applications so that recovered materials can be reused.

Looking ahead to 2028

In the next phase, the project will continue with technology validation, product testing and life cycle analyses.

Large-scale application will take time. However, the initial results show that high-quality recycling of wind turbine blades is moving closer. Together with its partners, Renewi is helping to build a more circular wind energy sector.

Read more about the research in TNO’s press article: https://www.tno.nl/en/newsroom/insights/2026/07/recycling-wind-turbine-blades/