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January 13, 2025
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January 29, 2025Sanmartín took over from Luis Sanz last year. At present, as explained to Navarra Capital by the company formed by Iberdrola and FCC Ámbito, the Cortes plant is setting up infrastructures and personnel and will soon have a temporary shovel stockpiling area operational.
The first plant that EnergyLoop will dedicate to the recycling of wind turbine blades in Navarra is expected to start operations ‘during the first fortnight of May’. This was announced to Navarra Capital by Federico Sanmartín, who was appointed managing director of the plant in March. In this way, he takes over from Luis Sanz, who went on to become Construction Manager of the waste treatment centre in Valladolid belonging to FCC Ámbito. FCC Ámbito, together with Iberdrola, participates in Energyloop.
A graduate in Chemical Sciences from the University of Zaragoza, Sanmartín holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Management from the European Business School. In addition, before joining EnergyLoop he held the position of Business Unit Manager at FCC Ámbito. Now, he is leading a project that was declared an investment of foral interest by the Government of Navarra in March 2023 and seeks to spearhead the recycling of wind turbine blades on an industrial scale in Spain and Portugal. The investment will amount to nearly 10 million euros.
After finishing its civil works at the end of last year in the Cortes industrial estate, the project ‘is already incorporating infrastructures, equipment and personnel’, while it has also obtained a licence to ‘soon set up an area for the temporary storage of blades’. According to Sanmartín, this space, which will occupy an area of around 4,000 square metres, will house the remains of wind turbines until the plant is operational in four months’ time.
FIRST COMMITMENT
EnergyLoop will start its activity with the reuse of the blades and waste management of two wind farms located in Albacete: Isabela and Molar de Molinar, the first Iberdrola wind farms to be repowered in Spain. ‘In total, 139 wind turbines will be dismantled, which means 417 blades weighing more than 800 tonnes’, the latter explained.
These blades are usually made mostly of composites (glass fibres, carbon and resins) which, once treated, become waste that is recovered for use as a secondary raw material in sectors such as energy, aerospace, automobiles, textiles, chemicals and construction.
According to the regional government, the installation of this plant represents ‘a boost to the ecological transition and business competitiveness’ of Navarre, ‘fundamental and strategic pillars’ of the region. In this sense, the initiative has been supported from the outset by the regional government, through the public company Sodena.
Source: navarracapital.es