Voodin Blade Technology, a German manufacturer, is testing 63-foot wind turbine blades crafted from laminated veneer lumber. This move seeks to replace the industry-standard fiberglass, which presents significant recycling challenges at the end of its lifecycle.
From NASA's 1980s wood-composite tests to Voodin's spruce blades
The push for wooden blades is a strategic response to the growing scale of the renewable energy sector. In the United States, wind power now accounts for approximately 10.5% of all utility-scale electricity generation, while in Germany, the combined output of wind and solar has already surpassed fossil fuels. As the scale of these installations grows, so does the waste problem. The move by Voodin Blade Technology to revive laminated veneer lumber (LVL) echoes a historical precedent set in the 1980s when NASA approached Michigan boatbuilders Gougeon Brothers.
As the source reports, those early wood-composite blades proved durable enough to pass 8,000 hours of testing, leading to the sale of 4,300 units to industry giants like General Electric and Westinghouse. However, the industry eventually pivoted toward fiberglass in the 1990s, leaving the potential of wood-composite technology largely untapped for decades.
Milling Nordic spruce without the need for traditional molds
Voodin Blade Technology is modernizing this concept by utilizing a manufacturing process that eliminates the need for traditional molds. Instead of the labor-intensive methods used in the past, Voodin engineers bond Nordic spruce into LVL using epoxy and then use computer-controlled cutting machines to mill the material into precise,curved shapes. These machines can tilt and rotate to achieve the necessary aerodynamic profiles.
According to the report, this level of automation provides two distinct advantages : it allows for much faster design changes and reduces the reliance on specialized craftspeople. This makes the production of engineered wood more scalable for mass markets, potentially allowing Voodin to compete with the established fiberglass supply chains.
The recycling deadlock of thermoset resin and fiberglass
The primary driver for this innovation is the environmental "double-edged sword" of wind energy: while the power is clean, the hardware is not. Currently, the U.S. can recycle 90% of wind turbine components, but the fiberglass blades themselves remain a major obstacle. Because the glass fibers are embedded in a thermoset resin, recycling them often requires energy-intensive chemical treatments or pyrolysis—a process that uses heat in an oxygen-free environment to separate the materials.
In contrast, Voodin’s engineered wood offers a circular lifecycle . Once a blade reaches the end of its life, it can be ground down for use in bioenergy, mulch, or even structural items like shelving and pallet parts. This ability to repurpose the material avoids the landfill issues that plague current composite blade disposal.
Can 63-foot prototypes scale to meet utility-scale demands?
While the technology is promising, Voodin Blade Technology faces significant technical and historical questions. The company is currently conducting tests on its 63-foot blades in Germany, but the industry's standard for utility-scale turbines involves much larger dimensions. It remains to be seen if wooden composites can maintain structural integrity when scaled up to these massive sizes.
Additionally, there is a lingering mystery regarding the industry's sudden departure from wood in the 1990s. The source notes that it is not clear why designers abandoned wood-composite techniques in favor of fiberglass, leaving a gap in the understanding of whether the previous failure was due to material limitations or the specific mounting hardware used at the time.
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