On 22nd and 23rd November, the 2023 End-of-Life Issues & Strategies (EoLIS) Seminar took place in Rotterdam, which focuses on incorporating sustainability into every stage of the wind energy value chain, from initial planning to end-of-life asset management.

EoLIS is a benchmark event in Europe sponsored by WindEUROPE, an association that brings together more than 500 companies located in 35 countries. It is the largest sectoral wind energy organisation in the world, bringing together the main manufacturers, operators and service providers in the wind energy sector. 

During the event, fundamental aspects of the entire life cycle were analysed, such as the situation of critical raw materials in Europe, the perspective of the second-hand markets for wind assets from the point of view of different agents, technical and legislative aspects of repowering with real cases, as well as different singular projects of recycling of different materials like blades, towers and permanent magnets, among many others.

ENERGYLOOP has participated in a technical session focused on the need for a specific regulatory framework for the management of waste from wind turbines at the end of their useful life, where aspects related to the different opportunities and challenges surrounding waste management, legal obligations, available technologies, possible incentives, and the basic lines to move towards a harmonised regulatory system were evaluated. Iván Botamino, head of the Soil and Materials Engineering department belonging to FCC Ámbito's Technical Management, was in charge of representing the company at the event.

ENERGYLOOP is the company owned by Iberdrola, through its PERSEO programme, and FCC Ámbito, a subsidiary of FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente, whose purpose is to lead the recycling of wind farm components, one of the biggest medium- and long-term challenges in the sector. The initial objective is to recover the components of wind turbine blades and reuse them in sectors such as energy, aerospace, automobiles, textiles, chemicals and construction.

ENERGYLOOP contributes to the transformation of the wind energy sector into a truly circular economy by investing in integrated blade recycling solutions. This initiative will also improve its competitiveness and sustainability thanks to the research and implementation of new recycling technologies that will make it possible to absorb the increasing amounts of waste and adopt increasingly efficient solutions.