Zebra project: the first 62-meter blade
One such industrialization program is the Zebra project, launched in September 2020 after a major effort to bring together partners representing the entire wind power value chain. For a 42-month period, alongside Arkema and glass fiber manufacturer Owens Corning, it is mobilizing the world's leading manufacturer of wind turbine blades LM Wind Corner (a GE subsidiary), the wind farm operator Engie and the world leader in recycling SUEZ. “The laboratory research phase on the properties of the composite (fatigue strength, resistance to bending, tensile strength, compression strength), confirmed that our material meets all the technical requirements of a turbine blade”, says Guillaume Clédat. In December 2021 and January 2022, after several prototype models, the partners reached a milestone in validating the manufacturing process by building the first two life-sized blades made of Elium® composite (62 meters long, 6 tons of resin). A larger model, intended for offshore use, will also be produced at the end of 2022. Beyond these iconic achievements, the project aims to validate the technical-economic equation of the sector as a whole: “We are developing a process that will allow resin and glass fibers to be fully recycled and then reused in the manufacturing process”, explains Guillaume Clédat. A complementary line of work involves recovering the production process waste. While the Zebra project will run until mid-2023, Arkema anticipates that the first Elium® composite turbine blades will be commissioned in 2024. Now more than ever, the fair winds are blowing!
