EnergyLOOP recognized by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge

Iberdrola and FCC Ámbito have been recognized by EnergyLOOP for their wind turbine blade recycling plant as an Emblematic Project of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (PRTR) by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.

This facility is located in the town of Cortes, Navarra, and is the first specifically dedicated to recycling wind turbine blades on the Iberian Peninsula, which will enable the recycling of components from renewable energy installations, one of the sector’s greatest challenges in the medium and long term.

Federico Sanmartín, managing director of EnergyLOOP, received the award from Ms. Sara Aagesen, Third Vice President of the Spanish Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, at a ceremony held today as part of the presentation of the PRTR results at the Official College of Architects of Madrid.

Caption: Federico Sanmartín, managing director of EnergyLOOP, receiving the award from Vice President Aagesen alongside representatives from FCC Ámbito and Iberdrola.

This project will improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the sector through research and the implementation of new technologies that will enable the absorption of growing amounts of waste and the adoption of increasingly efficient solutions.

It is estimated that in Europe in 2030, around 5,700 wind turbines will be dismantled each year, either due to the repowering of wind farms or because the facilities have reached the end of their useful life.

EnergyLOOP is a company promoted by Iberdrola, through its PERSEO program, and by FCC Ámbito, a subsidiary of FCC Enviro, for the recovery of wind turbine blade components and their reuse in sectors such as energy, aerospace, automotive, textiles, chemicals, and construction.

PERSEO Iberdrola Ventures, 15 years innovating with start-ups and new business models

Since its creation in 2008, PERSEO has invested €100 million in start-ups that develop innovative technologies and business models, focusing on those that improve the sustainability of the energy sector through greater electrification and decarbonization of the economy.

The program has focused its activities on analyzing business opportunities and technological collaboration with start-ups and emerging companies around the world, analyzing 300 companies each year and creating an ecosystem of almost 7,500 entrepreneurial companies. Currently, this investment instrument maintains a portfolio of eight companies.

Through PERSEO, the Venture Builder program was launched in 2020 with €40 million to create new business models aimed at supporting electrification in sectors that are difficult to decarbonize and developing circular economy solutions, among other things.

FCC Ámbito, a leading company in circular economy services

FCC Ámbito is the subsidiary of FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente specializing in the comprehensive management of industrial and commercial waste, the recovery of by-products, and soil decontamination. Together, it has a total of 39 treatment centers distributed throughout Spain and Portugal, representing more than 67 processing lines that guarantee the functionality of the facilities.

FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente is the FCC Group company that has been providing municipal services and comprehensive waste management for 120 years, serving more than 60 million people in 5,200 municipalities around the world. In 2021, the company managed 24 million tons of waste and produced nearly four million tons of secondary raw materials and fuel derived from waste.

The company has more than 770 operational waste management facilities, of which nearly 200 are environmental complexes dedicated to waste treatment and recycling, including 11 waste-to-energy projects with a capacity of 3.2 million tons per year and 360 MW of non-fossil electricity.