PowderBlade is a €2.7m Horizon 2020 project to develop large wind blades (60m-100m).The project is based on a novel process for manufacturing blades from powder epoxy, developed by ÉireComposites.

The process eliminates the need to glue blade sub-elements together and hence reduces cost and weight. The PowderBlade project aims to modernise the production of large-scale wind turbine blades. By doubling the length of the blades, four times the energy can be captured. Longer blades can also achieve economies of scale for large offshore wind farms.

Objectives:

Design and manufacture a carbon fibre spar and glass fibre root for a full-scale hybrid blade.

Design and test a torsion box for full-scale wind blade.

Reduce cycle time for blade production.

Commercialise the composite manufacturing technology for large wind blade application.

Scale up manufacturing process so that hundreds of blades can be produced each year.