Producing Glass Wool and Insulating Building Materials from Wind Turbine Blades

Enel Green Power (EGP) is looking for sustainable and economical processes to produce glass wool and insulating building materials by recycling wind turbine blades. EGP is the leader in the renewable energy sector and operates in Europe, Americas, Asia, Oceania and Africa.

This is an Ideation Challenge with a guaranteed award for at least one submitted solution.

The wind energy market has experienced an exponential growth in the last few decades, with thousands of wind turbines having been installed every year worldwide. Predictions indicate that the trend will go on for many more years, keeping wind energy at the forefront of renewable energy generation worldwide and helping the world to have safe, reliable and sustainable energy.

The average useful life of wind turbines is about 20 years. After this period, the mechanical and structural properties of the turbines decay and refurbishments in some cases might be necessary to extend their lifetime for a few more years, while in other cases, the wind turbines are dismantled. Whereas the biggest portion of wind turbine components are quite easy to recycle (i.e. metal parts), there is a small non-metallic portion of components that is less easy to recycle, namely the blades of the wind turbines. These are mostly made of composite materials (typically glass/carbon fibres + epoxy matrix), plus some other minor components/materials (e.g. glue and gelcoat), making this task particularly challenging.

As the first generations of wind turbine technology approach the end-of-life and must be dismantled, the need to find adequate methods to recycle the blades (and their components) gains increasing relevance and importance. Hence, Enel Green Power (EGP) is looking for the best available methods and processes to produce glass wool and insulating building materials from recycled wind turbine blades, in order to be more and more sustainable, under a circular economy perspective.

This Challenge provides contribution to the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

•     SDG 9, 11, 12, 13  

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For questions about the challenge and your proposal you can contact EnelOpenInnovabilityChallenges@innocentive.com

This is an Ideation Challenge, which has the following unique features:

• There is a guaranteed award for at least one solution. The awards will be paid to the best submission(s) as solely determined by the Seeker. The total payout will be $10,000. In case of multiple awarded solutions [maximum six (6)], there will be at least one submission receiving an award no smaller than $5,000, while the others won't be smaller than $1,000.
• The Solvers are not required to transfer exclusive intellectual property rights to the Seeker. Rather, by submitting a proposal, the Solver grants to the Seeker a royalty-free, perpetual, and non-exclusive license to use any information included in this proposal, including for promotional purposes.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (Central European Time) on March 7, 2020. 

Late submissions will not be considered.

After the Challenge deadline, the Seeker will complete the review process and make a decision with regards to the Winning Solution(s). All Solvers that submit a proposal will be notified on the status of their submissions; however, no detailed evaluation of individual submissions will be provided.

ABOUT THE SEEKER          

Enel is a multinational energy company and one of the world’s leading integrated electricity and gas operators. Enel works in 33 countries across five continents, generating energy with a managed capacity of more than 89 GW, selling gas and distributing electricity across a network spanning approximately 2.2 million km.

With almost 73 million end users around the world, Enel has the biggest customer base among our European competitors, and we are one of Europe’s leading energy companies by installed capacity and reported EBITDA.

The Enel Group is made up of approximately 68,000 people from around the world whose brilliant work is based on our values of Responsibility, Innovation, Trust and Proactivity. Together we are working on the same goal. We are Open Power and our aim is to overcome some of the greatest challenges facing the world. This is to be achieved through a new approach which combines attention to sustainability with the best in innovation.

Enel is dedicated to creating innovative solutions that meet society’s changing needs. Through its openinnovability.com crowdsourcing platform, the company connects people and ideas from across the world, encouraging anyone to propose sustainable innovation projects and solutions that help develop local communities.

Enel is also committed to helping to achieve six of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• 7 – Access to affordable and clean energy
• 4 – Support for quality education
• 8 – Contributing to socio-economic development in the communities in which Enel operates
• 9 – Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
• 11 – Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
• 13 – The fight against climate change

With a presence in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Oceania, Enel Green Power is a global leader in the green energy sector*, with an annual production of approximately 108 TWh**. Enel Green Power operates in 29 countries and has a managed capacity of over 43 GW (including over 39 GW of installed capacity); with more than 1,200 plants and a generation mix that includes the main renewable sources: wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal power.  An additional 7.8 GW of capacity is scheduled to be built by 2020.

Technological and geographical diversification are the main pillars of the company’s development strategy, which focuses its investments in growing markets characterized by an excellent availability of natural resources, strong energy demand growth rates and a stable socioeconomic situation. Enel Green Power has promoted an increasing incorporation of sustainability into its strategic vision, with the goal of increasing the benefits for the local communities where the company is active. The company has shifted from a reactive to a more proactive approach to critical issues, aimed at identifying opportunities for Creating Shared Value together with local communities. Enel Green Power believes that renewable energies are an important tool for promoting the competitiveness of the countries’ production industry and for guaranteeing the security of energy supplies: indeed, energy production from green sources contributes to creating greater energy autonomy and, at the same time, it helps protect the environment.

Thanks to its research, technological innovation, internationally-renowned operational excellence, and the hard work of almost 7600 people, Enel Green Power looks to the future fully aware of its potential for growth, both in terms of its size and operational performance. Enel Green Power invests in new businesses and technologies so as to improve its flexibility and performance, such as the integration of storage systems into renewable plants and the combination of technologies using different sources in the same plant (hybridization). The company is eager to step into new markets, as demonstrated by its recent entry into the markets of Zambia, Indonesia, Germany, Russia, Australia and Ethiopia, positioning itself as one of the main players in these areas that represent a strong potential for growth.

With its international experience, Enel Green Power also develops custom projects to offer companies the best solutions when it comes to energy generated by renewable sources. Clean energy and sustainable projects, competitive costs and tailor-made solutions are the main benefits of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), tools capable of building strong, long-lasting partnerships with business and industrial clients. Enel Green Power is also one of the founding members of RES4Africa Foundation, the association founded in 2012 to promote renewable energies and the spread of know-how on the African continent.

* In terms of installed capacity of private operators.

** Data at December 2018.