BAS4WIND is an international research project focused on developing more sustainable composite materials for wind energy. The starting point is the limited environmental compatibility of the glass and carbon composites widely used in turbine blades, together with the growing challenge of managing end-of-life blades – given their relatively short service life and the lack of scalable, cost-effective recycling routes.

The project develops alternative composites based on natural basalt fibres and lower-footprint components such as bio-based epoxy resins, bio-additives, and thermoplastic bio-based nonwovens. The targeted materials are designed to deliver the durability required for key blade components, including spar caps, skins, flanges, and girders/reinforcements, while also opening opportunities for future applications in construction and automotive sectors.

BAS4WIND combines materials development with modelling and life-cycle assessment to demonstrate the environmental and economic benefits of the new composites – such as improved recyclability and reduced carbon emissions linked to the production and operation of composite structures. The project is implemented at TRL 3–5 by a consortium of research organisations and companies from Poland, Denmark, Latvia, and Türkiye, coordinated by the Warsaw University of Technology.

TMBK Partners Sp. z o.o. is an industrial partner responsible for introducing and further developing a key “bio-component” of basalt fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP) composites: melt-blown thermoplastic nonwoven fabrics used as interlayers to mitigate delamination. TMBK Partners Sp. z o.o. will commission and optimise the process parameters (online/offline), produce nonwoven series with controlled microstructure, and provide samples together with a report on their properties. In WP1, the company contributes to component selection and process evaluation, co-develops the Data Management Plan, and, as a leader, will deliver manufacturing guidelines for BFRP methods along with a set of technical indicators. In WP4, TMBK Partners leads the preparation of the Exploitation, Dissemination and Communication Plan and supplies data for LCA/LCC/s-LCA analyses and for assessing BFRP recycling pathways.