Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Üretim : R&D project receives EU grant

Press Release

Zorlu Enerji to contribute to the circular economy by regaining composite materials with the JIDEP Project

Zorlu Enerji's R&D project receives EU grant

Zorlu Enerji is entitled to receive a 100 percent grant with its JIDEP (Joint Industrial Data Exchange Pipeline) Project, developed to recycle composite materials within the scope of the Horizon Europe program.

Zorlu Enerji, R&D Manager Ural Halaçoğlu stated that the platform created within the scope of the project would contribute significantly to the sectors and the circular economy.

Zorlu Enerji continues to improve its growth strategy in the axis of innovation and R&D. The company was entitled to receive a 100 percent grant for the JIDEP (Joint Industrial Data Exchange Pipeline) project, applied within the scope of the Horizon Europe program, which follows up the Horizon 2020 grant program created by the European Union to support research, development, and innovation projects. With JIDEP, it is aimed to recycle composite materials used in various sectors, especially automotive and maritime. The project will directly contribute to the circular economy and waste management.

Contributing significantly to the global circular economy

Stating that JIDEP would become an essential platform by offering more sustainable materials, products, services and solutions as the world embraced circular economy model, Ural Halaçoğlu, R&D Manager of Zorlu Energy, continued: "Basically, JIDEP is a research and development project to be carried out with 13 partners from 7 countries. The products we will offer will also be tested in a laboratory environment in this framework. Our project will become a platform where we keep data of raw materials that are obtained from recycling and reuse of composite material, which is basically a superfine engineering supply. For instance, a composite material used in blades for wind turbines can be reused for production in different sectors such as maritime, automotive, and informatics after being recycled if it is made of appropriate composition. Thanks to the platform created with this project, players from different sectors will meet their needs through a single platform. Manufacturers who want to use this transformed raw material will access the data platform and obtain the needed raw material. Through our efforts on this platform, we will contribute significantly to sectors and the circular economy."

An outstanding contribution to the economy with the reclamation of turbine blades

Mentioning that Turkey had been building wind power plants for more than 20 years and that many turbine blades were completed or would be completed, Halaçoğlu underlined that 14,000 wind turbine blades would be used in Turkey by 2023, due the "Acceleration Wind Turbine Blade Circularity" report of WindEurope dated May 2020. He continued: "Today, installed power of 355 wind power plants in our country reached 10.6 GW. Instead of burying under the ground or burning, recycling, and reusing of the blades -ones that complete their lifespan in these power plants in the coming years- will contribute significantly to the sector both environmentally and economically. As Zorlu Enerji, we aim to contribute directly to the circular economy and waste management, thanks to the data we will transfer to the platform by recycling and reusing end-of-life wind turbine blades installed at our Gökçedağ Wind Power Plant."