Spain's First Automated Wooden Wind Turbine Blade Factory: How the VB1F Project Aims to Eliminate Blade Waste by 2031

Wind energy has a blind spot: the blades. While up to 90% of a wind turbine's mass — steel towers, concrete foundations, copper wiring — can be recycled, the blades themselves are almost impossible to reprocess economically . Made from fibreglass and carbon fibre bound with epoxy resin, tens of thousands of decommissioned blades are buried in landfills or incinerated each year .

A German-led consortium now has a plan to close that gap. The VB1F (Voodin Blade 1st Factory) project will build Spain's first automated factory dedicated to producing wind turbine blades from engineered wood — and it has secured €48.18 million from the EU Innovation Fund to do it .

Project Overview: What Is the VB1F Factory?

The VB1F project is a €48.18 million grant from the EU Innovation Fund awarded to a consortium led by German startup Voodin Blade Technology, alongside German firm Anker-Tec and Lithuanian companies VMG Wood Invest (the project coordinator) and VMG Technics . The total projected investment exceeds €100 million .

The factory will be built in Navarre, Spain, and is slated to begin commercial operations in 2031, creating approximately 450 jobs . At full capacity, it is expected to produce up to 160 blade sets annually, with individual blades ranging from 20 to 90 metres in length .

Core Technology: Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL)

The blades are made from Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) — engineered wood created by bonding thin layers of veneer under heat and pressure . LVL has a stiffness-to-weight ratio comparable to fibreglass, making it a structurally viable replacement for conventional composite materials .

Key properties of Voodin's LVL blades:

• 100% recyclable at end of life. Unlike fibreglass blades, which are nearly impossible to break down, LVL blades can be ground down and reused in new wood-based products or for energy recovery, effectively eliminating blade landfill waste .
• Lower carbon footprint. Voodin states the blades require "a fraction of the carbon to make" compared to conventional fibreglass composites, since wood acts as a carbon store rather than a petroleum-derived product . According to the consortium, the project could avoid more than 2.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions during its first decade of operation .
• 25+ year service life. Voodin claims its LVL blades can match the operational lifespan of conventional blades . Prototypes have already been tested: a 19.3-metre set was installed on an existing turbine in Breuna, Germany, in late 2023, and the company has partnered with turbine manufacturer Senvion to test blades over 50 metres in length .

Mold-Free, Automated Manufacturing

A distinguishing feature of the VB1F factory is its fully automated, mold-free production process . Traditional blade manufacturing relies on large, expensive, single-use moulds that limit design flexibility and generate material waste. Voodin's process uses precision CNC machining guided by digital models to shape blades directly from LVL blanks, a method the company says can reduce capital costs by roughly half compared to conventional blade facilities .

This automation also allows for faster production cycles and greater flexibility in blade design, making the factory easier to scale and potentially deployable in other regions .

The Problem It Solves: Fibreglass Blade Waste

The wind industry faces a growing waste crisis. An estimated 78% of decommissioned fibreglass blades currently end up in landfills . Because fibreglass and carbon fibre composites are bound with epoxy resin, breaking them down into reusable materials is both technically difficult and economically prohibitive .

Voodin's solution replaces the composite material entirely. After 20–30 years of service, LVL blades can be fully recycled — returning the wood to the material cycle rather than burying it . This addresses what industry analysts describe as the "end-of-life" blind spot in wind energy's otherwise strong environmental credentials .

Strengthening European Supply Chains

The consortium structure reflects a deliberate strategy to reduce dependence on Asian-sourced fibreglass and epoxy resins. German engineering firms (Voodin, Anker-Tec) handle blade design and automation, while Lithuanian wood-processing specialists (VMG Wood Invest, VMG Technics) supply LVL sourced from sustainably managed European forests . Local production in Navarre shortens supply chains and improves energy security for European wind farm projects .

Alignment with EU Climate Targets

The project directly supports the EU's Green Deal and climate neutrality goals by enabling a circular economy for wind turbine components . The EU Innovation Fund, which provided the grant, is financed through the bloc's Emissions Trading System (ETS) and is a key instrument for deploying breakthrough low-carbon technologies that help the EU reach its 2050 net-zero target .

By making utility-scale wind energy fully circular — blades that are both bio-based and recyclable — the VB1F project addresses a critical gap in the industry's sustainability claims .