Critical technologies to improve the lifetime, efficient decommissioning and increase the circularity of offshore and onshore wind energy systems
TOPIC ID: HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02-15
Type of action
HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Type of MGA
HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]
Deadline model
single-stage
Opening date
04 May 2023
Deadline date
05 September 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time
ExpectedOutcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to at least two of the following expected outcomes:
- Improved overall lifetime, reliability, recyclability, sustainability, operability and maintainability of onshore and offshore wind turbines and foundations/substructures.
- Enhanced overall sustainability of wind energy systems based on mainstreamed Life Cycle Analysis addressing social, economic and environmental aspects, as well as improved circularity.
- Mainstreamed affordable high life-cycle performance, life extension, more efficient decommissioning, and improved circularity of wind turbine components.
- Potential new markets in wind turbines recycling and/or re-purposing.
Scope:
Innovative technologies to improve the lifetime, efficient decommissioning and increase the circularity of wind energy systems. Project can address one of the following points:
- Development of improved, more damage-tolerant materials (composites and adhesives) considering different external conditions in which the materials are used (consider very low/high temperatures, ice, corrosion, erosion.
- The development of improved manufacturing procedures for turbine components and construction methods for wind turbine farms and design methods for wind turbine components.
- The development of materials and interfaces for joints of major load-carrying parts like main spars (split blades and tower parts).
- The development of bio-based fibres and resins with improved mechanical properties.
- Lifetime extension by innovative design for increased resilience and repair solutions for in the first-place wind turbine components like blades, drive train and generators’, and support structures.
- New installation, decommissioning, and condition monitoring technologies and operation and maintenance methodologies (e.g. remote controlled devices for in situ repairs by robots).
- New efficient recycling technologies for wind energy components.
- Alternatives in materials/new advanced materials.
- New technologies for effective and environmentally friendly decommissioning of wind energy systems.
But it is not excluded to consider other solutions.
This R&I need is critical for onshore wind given the large volumes of capacity to be decommissioned in the next decade. The R&I need was also identified in the offshore renewable energy strategy (COM(2020) 741 final) that commits the Commission to ‘systematically integrate the principle of ‘circularity by design’ into renewables research & innovation’.
Specific Topic Conditions:
Activities are expected to achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
Topic Eligibility and Documents:
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