The new company, made up of seventeen firms (eleven of them from Navarra), plans to start operations in 2023 through this first project, which will create fifty jobs. The firm will start up three lines of business: the dismantling and reconditioning of wind turbine components, the recovery of raw materials such as steels and melts, and the recycling of non-reusable fiberglass and resin composite materials. The company is made up of the firms Nordex Ingeteam, Inpre, Laulagun Bearings, Grupo Hine Renovables, Mekatar Group, Frenos Iruña and Saprem, Tetrace, Sidenor, Lizarte, Sincro Mecánica, Abintus Engineering, Eo6 Ingeniería and EIT Innoenergy.
The new company RenerCycle, which plans to install in Navarra a plant for the recycling and reconditioning of renewable industry components, will start its activity in 2023 and will invest 10 million euros in this new project, as announced by representatives of the Government of Navarra last week, during the presentation of the new company.
The company, which will create fifty jobs in three years, will start up three lines of business: the dismantling and industrial reconditioning of the main components of wind turbines (blades, shafts and gearboxes, electric generators and converters, large bearings, hydraulic actuators and brakes, as well as other electrical and electronic sub-components); the recovery of certain raw materials such as steels and melts; and the recycling of materials composed of glass fibers and non-reusable resins.
According to the Executive, it is “a novel economic activity, since neither in Navarra nor in Spain there are, for the moment, companies of this type”. The project aims to strengthen “the leadership of Navarra in the renewable sector” and is also presented as a “perfect example of circular economy,” since “its proposal for reconditioning and recycling of components of the wind industry will allow closing the life cycle of wind turbines, including R&D to achieve efficient manufacturing processes with the use of natural resources and energy”.
Decommissioning of wind farms
RenerCycle aims to “significantly reduce the consumption of natural resources, driving the renewables sector towards a goal of maximum sustainability”. The intention is to achieve “zero waste” in the process of dismantling wind farms since, according to the company, by 2030 it is expected that around 50,000 turbines will reach the end of their useful life cycle in Europe. In particular, Spain and Germany will be the markets that will have to dismantle the largest fleets, with more than 16,000 turbines each.
Thus, RenerCycle will initially focus its services on the wind energy sector in order to “meet the growing needs of this sector”, although it was created “with the aim of developing circularity solutions as the market demands them in the wind energy, solar photovoltaic and battery storage sectors”.
Member companies
The company is made up of seventeen companies in the sector, eleven of which are from Navarre. Thus, Acciona Energía, Enerfin and Grupo Enhol will contribute their experience in the development and operation of renewable plants with a combined fleet of more than 27 GW worldwide. Nordex will provide its extensive experience in the design, manufacture, installation and maintenance of wind turbines, with 40 GW installed globally.
Ingeteam, Inpre, Laulagun Bearings, Grupo Hine Renovables, Mekatar Group, Frenos Iruña and Saprem are among the world’s leading manufacturers of wind components and between them have more than 100 GW of experience in the manufacture of mechanical and electrical components. At the same time, Tetrace, Sidenor, Lizarte and Sincro Mecánica will contribute with their leadership in services to the sector, as well as in the reconditioning and recycling of components.
Meanwhile, Abintus Engineering, Eo6 Ingeniería and EIT Innoenergy will cooperate with their experience in strategic consulting and management of renewable companies, engineering capabilities specialized in the wind industry and strategic investment in renewable energy programs in accordance with the guidelines set by the European commission.
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