Driving sustainability and innovation in wind-offshore and composite materials

12 Sep 2024

Discover our projects

As RINA, we are actively driving sustainability and innovation within the wind-offshore and composite materials sectors. 

In the MAREWIND project, our involvement is central to the technical validation process. This includes conducting sustainability analyses using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC), and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) methodologies. Our goal is to assess the environmental, economic, and socio-economic impacts of MAREWIND products for the wind offshore sector, essential for validating their sustainability and ensuring successful market integration. Starting from the Product Category Rules (PCR) for the energy sector, the three sustainability analyses are conducted in a comparative mode, identifying a proper benchmark (at product and at turbine levels) and comparing the impacts with MAREWIND innovative scenarios. Through these efforts, we support the advancement of innovative materials that enhance durability, recyclability, and overall sustainability, thereby reducing maintenance efforts and costs.

Our activity within the MAREWIND project was recently presented during the "Eco-design of composite materials" workshop, organized by CETMA under the FURHY project, which further highlights our commitment and expertise in sustainable composite materials.

Within the FURHY project context, we are actively involved in developing an innovative 'composite material’, with primary sectors of interest being aerospace and automotive industries. This innovative material utilizes a bio-based epoxy resin filled with expanded graphite (EG), promising enhanced durability, recyclability, and reduced energy consumption over its lifecycle. By integrating hemp fibers and recycled carbon fibers (rCFs) into a hybrid composite, we maximize environmental benefits while mitigating associated drawbacks. The adoption of a low-energy consumption compression molding process further underscores our dedication to sustainable manufacturing practices. Within the project, we are conducting LCA and S-LCA analyses to evaluate the environmental, economic, and socio-economic impacts of the materials. The results will be primarily assessed based on the energy savings and waste reduction potential of the implemented technologies compared to current benchmarks.