New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

Identify the award category for which this initiative is being submitted
Shaping a circular industrial ecosystem and supporting life-cycle thinking

Email user
saskiaschmidt@ox2.de

Basic information
Initiative title
Rethink Rotor

Full initiative Title
Reuse of rotor elements in the construction sector for cross-industry circularity.

Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
Wind energy generates 21% of Germany's gross electricity, but what happens to the rotor blades after they are used? 7500 rotor blades are yearly disposed in Germany. Rethink Rotor is a collaborative project between Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and OX2Architekten. The students from different departments have dealt with the topic of recycling rotor blades and thus created Rethink Rotor. Through the expertise of different fields we have found a functional way to reuse rotor blades.

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
Local

Where was your intiative implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Germany

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
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Does your initiative address mainly urban or rural issues?
It addresses urban-rural linkages

Does your initiative refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)

Has your initiative benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your initiative won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
No

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As an individual
Please provide the contact details for the intiative promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the intiative).
- First name: Saskia
  Last name: Schmidt
  Gender: Female
  Nationality: Germany
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Kupferstraße 13
  Town: Aachen
  Postal code: 52070
  Country: Germany
  Direct Tel: +49 241 9108800
  E-mail: saskiaschmidt@ox2.de
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
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In case my initiative is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
Rethink*Rotor is a project investigating methods of reusing wind turbine rotor elements already on the market as a "second life application" in the construction sector. Thanks to the material properties such as durability, low weight and high stiffness, supported by the creative ideas within the project, it is likely that the large turbine components will remain in the anthroposphere. With around 21.7 % of gross electricity in Germany, wind energy is a rapidly growing market. As a result of the major restructuring of the German energy supply, 80 % of the electricity consumption, which will be significantly higher by then, is to be covered by renewable energies by 2030, instead of only about half so far - this will only be possible with a massive expansion of wind farms. However, the rotor blades of the wind turbines will have to be replaced after 20 years. Already now, about 7,500 of the parts are disposed of every year...
But what happens to the discarded, in some cases over 80 m long, custom-made parts made of epoxy resin-bonded fibre-reinforced plastics after they have been used in the wind farm for about 20 years?
Because of the high-performance material cocktail, which is made almost exclusively of duromers, the rotor blades can only be partially recycled by means of costly, environmentally harmful processes. Once cured, the epoxy resin-based plastic matrix of the huge blade surfaces can no longer be deformed. Some of them are therefore shredded after dismantling and the metal residues they contain are separated. The remaining waste is used thermally as a fuel and sand substitute in the cement industry or burnt in small quantities in conventional waste incineration plants. This form of thermal recycling is not residue-free, neither CO₂-neutral, nor sustainable, because recycling is accompanied by a loss of quality of the non-degradable materials, which still end up in the waste, thus reducing the overall sustainability of the wind turbines

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
circularity

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
reuse

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
futuristic way to build

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
cooperation between Unerversity of Applied Science and OX2Architekten

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
wind energie

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Why does the use of rotor blades in the construction sector make sense?
The construction sector is responsible for about 40 % of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
In December 2015, at the World Climate Conference in Paris, a climate agreement pledged to curb climate change and transform the global economy in a climate-friendly way.
To achieve this goal, no more climate-damaging gases may be emitted in the second half of this century than are removed from the atmosphere by so-called carbon sinks, such as forests.

One of the most important principles for our handling of these findings is: the grey energy contained in every building but also in every manufactured part (e.g. rotor blade) is irretrievably lost if we do not reuse it. In order to reduce further exploitation of earth resources, the preservation or recycling of urban warehouses is an important economic goal.
For this reason, a team of experts has been working for some time within the framework of the Rethink*Rotor project to find ways to reuse discarded rotor blades in the construction industry - in the spirit of circularity.

The aim of Rethink*Rotor is to replace the current practice of recycling or final disposal with the reuse of the elements as building products and thus their remaining in the anthroposphere. For this purpose, the rotor blades are sorted according to shape and resilience and classified for usability in the construction sector.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Rethink*Rotor provides high-quality yet simple solutions for the complex task of giving disused rotor blades a second life in the construction sector and integrating them into the architecture of buildings.
The "second life applications" of the complex geometries of the rotor blades are supported by the beauty of the parts, but in order to guarantee their use in new applications, a whole series of creative and constructive ideas are required. Only then can the aesthetic potential of the repaired, used and reclaimed be fully developed.
Another goal is to increase the acceptance of wind turbines. With this project, we see ourselves as part of the innovation front on the way to a building turnaround and sustainable change for the built world.
The challenge resulting from the complexity and long-lasting use of the parts once they have been produced, whether these are rotor blades or parts of a building, illustrates the urgency of solving the individual critical aspects. Without this, the vision of the building turnaround and the sustainable built world is only an illusion.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
With around 21.7 % of gross electricity in Germany, wind energy is a rapidly growing market. As a result of the major restructuring of the German energy supply, 80 % of the electricity consumption, which will be significantly higher by then, is to be covered by renewable energies by 2030, instead of only about half so far - this will only be possible with a massive expansion of wind farms.
In December 2015, at the World Climate Conference in Paris, a climate agreement pledged to curb climate change and transform the global economy in a climate-friendly way.
To achieve this goal, no more climate-damaging gases may be emitted in the second half of this century than are removed from the atmosphere by so-called carbon sinks, such as forests.
One possible way out of the recycling dilemma will be new Second Life applications, such as those being researched in the Rethink*Rotor project in the sense of cross-sector circularity, to then be used "profitably" in the construction sector.
Why does the use of rotor blades in the construction sector make sense?
The construction sector is responsible for about 40 % of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
Thanks to the material properties such as durability, corrosion resistance, low weight and high stiffness, supported by the creative ideas within the project, it is likely that the large turbine components will remain in the anthroposphere.
The aim of Rethink*Rotor is to replace the current practice of recycling or final disposal with the reuse of the elements as building products and thus their remaining in the anthroposphere. For this purpose, the rotor blades are sorted according to shape and resilience and classified for usability in the construction sector.
One of the most important principles for our handling of these findings is: the grey energy contained in every building but also in every manufactured part (e.g. rotor blade) is irretrievably lost if we do not reuse it. In order to reduce further exploitation of earth resources, the preservation or recycling of urban warehouses is an important economic goal.
For this reason, a team of experts has been working for some time within the framework of the Rethink*Rotor project to find ways to reuse discarded rotor blades in the construction industry - in the spirit of circularity.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
We are a cooperation between the University of Applied Science and OX2Architekten. Therefore we are our own stakeholder. However, we are currently in contact with various production companies to start a mutual exchange.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
The project was launched with many people from different fields of work. Since we are a cooperative project with students from different departments, we were able to draw on the knowledge of a wide variety of directions. This resulted in a project that was designed by architects, constructed by civil engineers and tested by plastics engineers.

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
Building with rotor blades was unthinkable until now, because the sizes involved are enormous. However, this is exactly our goal, we want to think bigger and thus counteract the recycling problem. If in Germany alone 7500 rotor blades are disposed of annually, we would like to create a way to counteract this dilemma.

Please describe which elements of your initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
As already mentioned, about 7,500 of the rotor blades are currently disposed of as waste in Germany every year. In the near future, a much larger number can be expected.
For this reason, the Rethink*Rotor project focuses on a broad spectrum of possible new applications for rotor blades in the building sector. Starting with 30 to 60 pieces for an industrial hall or 600 for a noise barrier up to 2000 or more for a pontoon construction as a floating support structure for a floating village. These are only three selected examples of the many topics that the Rethink*Rotor project deals with. An important aspect is to find a secondary use near the original location of the wind turbine in order to minimise transport distances. To this end, work is also being done on processing concepts that make it possible to implement them on site. One of the prerequisites is that the joints for the components can be realised with low-tach methods.
Thanks to the prospects for subsequent use of the rotor blades, the acceptance of wind turbines in an urban context is also increased.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
We are currently presenting our project at various events to publicize the topic.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
Rethink*Rotor is a project investigating methods of reusing wind turbine rotor elements already on the market as a "second life application" in the construction sector. However, the rotor blades of the wind turbines will have to be replaced after 20 years. Already now, about 7,500 of the parts are disposed of every year...
But what happens to the discarded, in some cases over 80 m long, custom-made parts made of epoxy resin-bonded fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP) after they have been used in the wind farm for about 20 years?
Because of the high-performance material cocktail, which is made almost exclusively of duromers, the rotor blades can only be partially recycled by means of costly, environmentally harmful processes. Some of them are therefore shredded after dismantling and the metal residues they contain are separated. The remaining waste is used thermally as a fuel and sand substitute in the cement industry or burnt in small quantities in conventional waste incineration plants. This form of thermal recycling is not residue-free, neither CO₂-neutral, nor sustainable, because recycling is accompanied by a loss of quality of the non-degradable materials, which still end up in the waste.

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
-

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
PDF
PDF
- pdf-1-36735.pdf
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
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Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
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Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed initiative has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the initiative and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their initiatives, initiative, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted initiative, initiative is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes