Permian Energy Development Lab and Composite Recycling partner to advance composite materials recycling
Odessa, Texas—The Permian Energy Development Lab (PEDL) has formed a new partnership with Composite Recycling, a Swiss startup that has developed a process for recycling composite materials like glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP). The partnership aims to create a recycling solution for wind turbine blades that have been taken out of service. More broadly, the partners will work to develop a regional circular economy for composite materials.
Widely used across many industries, composite materials like GFRP are extremely difficult to recycle using traditional methods. Composite Recycling's technology separates resin from fiberglass while preserving the materials’ structural integrity. The approach allows reclaimed fibers and petrochemicals to be reused in creating new composite products and plastics.
Said Marilu Hastings of the Permian Energy Development Lab: "Recycling wind turbine blades is a long-sought goal of the renewables sector. Life cycle impacts are a thorny challenge and there’s no better place to pursue a solution—and then scale that solution—than the Permian Basin. We’re excited to partner with Composite Recycling, bring their investment here and affirm the Permian’s status as an engine of innovation.“
Under the agreement, PEDL and its network of university and national lab researchers, business and community partners will collaborate with Composite Recycling to advance their recycling technology and develop recycling programs focused on the region's composite waste streams.
"PEDL represents an exciting model for community- and workforce-driven energy innovation,” said Guillaume Perben, CEO of Composite Recycling. “The Permian Basin is an extraordinary place—a launchpad for energy innovation and job creation. We believe our work will have a global impact, in part thanks to this partnership.”
Key points of the memorandum of understanding include:
Deploying Composite Recycling's mobile recycling units at the site of a discarded wind turbine blade stockpile
Identifying opportunities to encourage local demand for reclaimed fibers and petrochemicals
Analyzing workforce training needs for the new recycling industry
Engaging local communities to gather input and create opportunity
The collaboration represents an important step toward PEDL's mission of ensuring the benefits of advanced energy innovation flow throughout Permian Basin communities. It builds upon similar agreements with SOLARCYCLE, a solar panel recycling company; ER Operating Company, the oil and gas division of the Dallas, Texas-based Roosevelt Family Office, known for its pioneering work to reduce carbon emissions and increase oil and gas well productivity; and Teverra, a technology-focused energy company working on geothermal energy, carbon storage, energy storage and cleaner oil and gas solutions.
About the Permian Energy Development Lab
The Permian Energy Development Lab is a New Mexico- and Texas-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing energy research, fostering innovation and creating value for energy communities through collaboration with academic institutions, industry partners and government agencies.
About Composite Recycling
Composite Recycling is a Switzerland-based cleantech startup which has developed a next generation technology for recycling glass fiber-reinforced plastics, with the goal of diverting fiberglass waste away from landfills and into production of high-performance, high-value new composites.
