• RenerCycle has as partners 17 companies with extensive experience in the renewable sector, such as the developers ACCIONA Energía and Enerfin (Elecnor Group), the investors Sidenhol (Enhol and Sidenor) and EIT InnoEnergy, the industrial companies Nordex, Ingeteam, Inpre, Laulagun Bearings, Mekatar, Hine, Frenos Iruña, Lizarte and Saprem, as well as the service companies Sincro Mecánica, Tetrace, Abintus Engineering and Eo6 Ingeniería.

• The preliminary plans of the new company include an investment of 10 M€ in the next three years and the creation of up to 50 jobs.

• The new company has the support of the Government of Navarre, whose president María Chivite has described it as a strategic project for the region.

Representatives of the new company have been received today by the President of the Government of Navarra, Mrs. María Chivite, and the Regional Minister of Economic and Business Development, Mr. Mikel Irujo, who have confirmed their government’s support for this sector initiative that aims to increase the sustainability of the renewable industrial sector through the development and implementation of integrated circularity solutions for the sector itself.

According to Javier Villanueva, current chairman of the board of directors of RenerCycle, “RenerCycle is born to become an independent and important player in the renewable energy sector, to lead the industrial activity regarding the dismantling of wind farms that reach the end of their useful life and the refurbishment of the main components for their use in a second life, fully guaranteed and including the recycling of those parts from which raw material can be obtained, thus keeping it as long as possible in the economic cycle“. With this, RenerCycle will achieve the goal of significantly reducing the consumption of natural resources, driving the sector towards a goal of maximum sustainability. According to Mr. Villanueva, “RenerCycle is the renewable industry’s own response to move forward together towards a positive future for the planet and people”.

In this regard, the Regional Minister for Economic and Business Development, Mikel Irujo, highlighted that “sustainability, circularity and digital transformation are three pillars that make up the transformation of the current production model that is promoted from Europe through the Next Generation funds and is key to improving the competitiveness of companies and the region“.

RenerCycle is backed by the extensive experience of its founding partners in the renewable business, and in the wind energy sector in particular.

ACCIONA Energía, Enerfin and Grupo Enhol bring their long experience in developing and operating renewable plants with a combined fleet of more than 27 GW worldwide. Nordex brings vast 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. Tetrace, Sidenor, Lizarte and Sincro Mecánica contribute their leadership in services as well as in the refurbishment and recycling of components, while Abintus Engineering, Eo6 Ingeniería and EIT Innoenergy respectively contribute their experience in strategic consultancy and management of renewable companies, engineering capabilities specialised in the wind industry and strategic investment in renewable energy programmes in accordance with the guidelines set by the European Commission.

Comprehensive service offer for wind farms

RenerCycle will develop from next year 2023 its comprehensive offer through 3 lines of business: dismantling and industrial refurbishment of the main components of wind turbines (blades, main shafts and gearboxes, electrical generators and converters, large bearings, hydraulic actuators and brakes as well as other electrical and electronic subcomponents), recovery of certain raw materials such as steel and recycling of composite materials made of glass fibres and non-reusable resins, thus achieving the main sustainability objective of the wind sector: zero waste.

More than 50,000 turbines will reach end-of-life by 2030

The huge growth of renewable energies worldwide makes it necessary to develop efficient and cost-effective solutions for circularity to achieve a 100% sustainable sector.

It is estimated that by 2030 there will be more than 50,000 wind turbines in Europe that will have reached or exceeded 20 years of useful life, with Spain and Germany being the markets that will have the largest fleet to be decommissioned, with more than 16,000 turbines each. The magnitude of this market also applies to the blades, a component that from 2025 onwards will not be allowed to be deposited in landfills and will therefore have to be recycled. It is estimated that in 2030 more than 500,000 tonnes of wind blades will have reached the end of their useful life, of which 170,000 tonnes correspond to the Spanish market.

RenerCycle will initially focus its services on the wind energy sector to meet the growing needs of this sector, although it has the vocation to develop circularity solutions as the market demands them in the wind energy, solar photovoltaic and battery storage sectors.

Industrial commitment and support from the Government of Navarre

RenerCycle’s preliminary plans include the investment of at least 10 million euros over three years, of which a third would be dedicated to the construction and operation of a blade recycling plant and the rest would be for updating the production means for the reconditioning of components, as well as the R&D&I activities necessary to achieve manufacturing processes that are efficient in the use of natural resources and energy. The company plans to create up to 50 new skilled jobs in its wind turbine component reconditioning, recovery, and recycling activities.

The newly created company has the support of the Government of Navarra, which considers the initiative strategic for the community. In this way, Navarre reaffirms itself as a pole of innovation and leadership in the development of the renewable sector with special emphasis on circular economy industrial initiatives aimed at achieving maximum sustainability in renewable energy activity, as well as taking advantage of the economic opportunities associated with it.