Advances in Rotor Blades: Day 2 - 28/08/2025

8:30 - 9:00 Registration and Welcome Coffee

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Dr. Alexander Krimmer

Senior Materials Engineer
TPI Composites Germany GmbH

• Preliminary design concept

• Fast and scalable manufacturing 

• Design challenges

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Moritz Bäß

Head of Modelling
RWTH - Chair and Institute of Structural Mechanics and Lightweight Design

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Lukas Kettenhofen

Head of Optimization
RWTH - Chair and Institute of Structural Mechanics and Lightweight Design

9:45 - 10:15 Biodegradable Rotor Blades Made from Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL)

• Structural performance of LVL under high fatigue and dynamic loads

• 100% biodegradable blade concept: Design & material characteristics

• Lifecycle analysis: CO₂ footprint & end-of-life benefits

• Smart manufacturing for scalable, platform-compatible blade production

• Coating solutions for durability and environmental resistance

10:15 - 10:45 Coffee Break & Networking

10:45 - 11:15 High-Performance Thermoplastic Composites for Rotor Blades

• In-situ consolidation & automated fiber placement (AFP)

• Mechanical property evolution under cyclic loading

• Welding vs. adhesive bonding for thermoplastics

11:15 - 11:45 Enhanced digital solution for blade manufacturing: Integrating laser projection and AI￾powered camera guidance in the layup process

Marie Hooper - Sales Manager, LAP GmbH Laser Applikationen
  • Requirements for visibility and positioning accuracy
  • Customization of solutions to accommodate new manufacturing requirements
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Marie Hooper

Sales Manager
LAP GmbH Laser Applikationen

11:45 - 12:15 The use of infrared thermography as an inspection tool for wind turbine rotor blades

Somsubhro Chaudhuri - Postdoctoral Researcher, 8.3 Thermographic Methods, Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)

• Implementation of ground-based infrared thermography for blade inspection

• Understanding what can be achieved with thermographic inspections

• Examples from the field

• Understanding the potential and limitations of thermography using controlled climate chambers and simulation

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Somsubhro Chaudhuri

Postdoctoral Researcher, 8.3 Thermographic Methods
Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)

12:15 - 14:00 Round table discussion groups – Discuss in small groups with your peers.

12:15 - 14:00 Table A - Leading Edge Erosion

12:15 - 14:00 Table B - Split Blades Technology

12:15 - 13:15 Table C - Desing for Manufacturing

13:15 - 14:45 Networking Lunch

14:45 - 15:15 Optimisation of process parameters for solvolysis of rotor blade components

Enno Petersen - Head of Department Rotor Blades, Fraunhofer IWES

• Results of ReUsaBlade project

• Recycling potential of blade materials

• Solvolysis of epoxy system like recyclamine

• Upscaling possibilities

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Enno Petersen

Head of Department Rotor Blades
Fraunhofer IWES

15:15 - 15:45 Repurposing Wind Turbine Waste: Enabling Circularity Through Polymer Recovery

Andrew Billingsley - CEO, Plaswire Ltd.
  • Converting blade waste into reusable polymer materials
  • Creating value from decommissioned rotor blade components
  • Technical challenges in separating and processing composite waste
  • Toward a closed-loop lifecycle for wind turbine materials
  • Reducing environmental footprint through repurposing innovation
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Andrew Billingsley

CEO
Plaswire Ltd.

15:45 - 15:45 Closing remarks

End of conference