The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the six final winners of its Wind Turbine Materials Recycling Prize, awarding each team $500,000 in cash prizes and $100,000 in vouchers for collaboration with DOE national laboratories. The competition, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supports the development of cost-effective recycling technologies that aim to enhance the sustainability of U.S. wind energy systems.
The combined $3.6 million prize aims to expand domestic recycling capabilities for wind materials, helping reduce dependence on foreign sources and bolstering U.S. supply chains. Jeff Marootian, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at DOE, highlighted the importance of addressing wind turbine materials' full life cycle, saying, “The winners of this prize…prove that we can decommission turbines in a manner that is sustainable, economical, and advances our vision for building a comprehensive domestic recycling ecosystem.”
The prize competition, which began with 20 teams in January, focused on innovative recycling solutions for challenging materials like carbon fiber, fiberglass composites, and rare earth elements. The six winning teams showcased technologies that recover valuable materials from wind turbines and transform composite blades into usable materials for other industries.
The winning teams from five U.S. states are:
- Cimentaire (Houston, Texas)
- Critical Materials Recycling (Boone, Iowa)
- Fletcher Team (Huntington, West Virginia)
- GreenTex Solutions, LLC (Charleston, South Carolina)
- United Standard Materials Corporation (Houston, Texas)
- WIND REWIND (Orono, Maine)
With their prizes, the teams will advance their prototypes toward full-scale demonstration and validation, contributing to the DOE's goal of creating a circular economy for wind energy. The next phase includes a Pitch Day event in 2025, where participants will present progress made since the competition's conclusion and demonstrate the commercial potential of their technologies.
