Vattenfall's old wind turbine blades hit the slopes as skis

Vattenfall, Gjenkraft and EVI are collaborating to use discarded wind turbine blades to create high-performance skis in an effort to inspire circularity in the sport and renewables industries.

Vattenfall has placed an order for 15 pairs of skis with Norwegian ski company EVI, including alpine skis, carving skis, and one pair of race skis. According to a company statement, these high-quality skis will be reinforced with carbon extracted from blades from the decommissioned Dutch wind farm Irene Vorrink.

Once delivered, the skis will be tested on the slopes in Åre, Sweden.

Gustav Frid, Environment & Sustainability specialist at Vattenfall, commented in a statement: “By moving from a linear take-make-waste economy to a circular economy, we can close the loop and use materials again through recycling. This project perfectly illustrates how technology provides a sustainable alternative to traditional ski-making materials. We hope it will inspire others and foster new ideas for accelerating circularity."

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Wind turbine blades are notoriously challenging to recycle due to their composite construction, making material separation difficult.

Vattenfall is looking to overcome this and ensure it can recycle 100% of its turbines by 2030.

To this end, Vattenfall began partnering with Norwegian company Gjenkraft, which specialises in extracting materials such as fiberglass and carbon fiber from end-of-service blades, and EVI, known for its use of recycled materials in ski production.

According to Marcin Rusin, co-founder of Gjenkraft, making skis was a logical choice. "As a Norwegian company with team members who are enthusiastic about skiing, deciding to manufacture skis was a natural fit. We are very excited to see this concept come to fruition.

Added Rusin: "We already had the technology to recover valuable raw materials from composite waste, the next step was to find a high-end product that would appeal to the public.

Evi Ski was founded 15 years ago by industrial designer Endre Hals, who wanted to create a ski that wouldn’t need to be thrown away when it was worn out or damaged. Hals aims to replace and reinforce, rather than discard completely, which makes this collaboration a good fit with his mission.

Endre Hals, founder of EVI skis, commented: “We are humbly aware that a small ski producer like EVI will never be able to make a big impact on the use of this kind of industrial waste. Therefore, we are extra stoked that Gjenkraft and Vattenfall want to bring us on to realize this awesome vision for the future of product development.”

Vattenfall is working on several circularity projects besides ski production. The company is also involved in projects to construct cabins and parking facilities using parts from decommissioned wind turbines. Gustav Frid, Senior Environment & Sustainability specialist at Vattenfall, explains:

"Even though several recycling solutions are approaching industrialisation, we need these innovative examples to show what’s actually possible. There’s enormous potential for creativity and new applications for the composite materials found primarily in blades, but also in other parts of a wind turbine."