Thor: Advancing circularity in offshore wind

26 February 2025

Solution provider

RWE is one of Europe’s leading energy companies – originating in Essen, Germany. RWE employs around 19,000 people worldwide and has a clear target: to get to net zero by 2040. On its way there, the company has set itself ambitious targets for all activities that cause greenhouse gas emissions.

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Port of Thorsminde with a view to Thor offshore wind park. Photo credit: Ole Mortensen

Challenge

As offshore wind plays an increasing role in the global energy transition, the industry faces a growing challenge in ensuring the sustainability of turbine materials. Traditional wind turbine blades are made from composite materials that are difficult to recycle, leading to waste at end-of-life. Additionally, steel production, which is a core component of offshore wind foundations, is a carbon-intensive process. To fully realise the potential of wind power as a low-carbon energy source, circular solutions are needed

Solution

RWE’s Thor Offshore Wind Farm, Denmark’s largest offshore wind project to date, is integrating recyclable materials and low-carbon steel to reduce its environmental footprint.

40 of the wind farms 72 Siemens Gamesa turbines will be equipped with worldwide-first recyclable rotor blades from the wind turbine manufacturer. Thanks to a new type of resin with a special chemical structure the composite materials used in Siemens Gamesa’s recyclable blades can be separated again. This process ensures that the properties of the individual materials remain intact so that they can be reused in new casting applications, for example in the automotive industry or in consumer goods.

In addition, RWE is piloting CO2-reduced steel towers for half of the project’s turbines using Siemens Gamesa’s GreenerTower. The steel used in the towers emit a maximum of 0.7 tonnes CO2-e per ton of steel for the steel plate by means of less energy intensive steel manufacturing processes, increased use of scrap steel and increased use of renewable energy in the manufacturing processes.

Using GreenerTower will ensure a CO2 reduction of at least 63 percent in the tower steel plates, compared to conventional steel.

Result

Once operational, Thor Offshore Wind Farm will have a capacity of more than 1 GW, and will be capable of producing enough green electricity to supply the equivalent of more than one million Danish households. More importantly, it sets a precedent for sustainable offshore wind development by integrating recyclable blades and green steel. By reducing material waste and lowering CO₂ emissions in production, RWE is showcasing how offshore wind can embrace circularity while scaling up clean energy generation.