Upcycling Protective Plastics from Offshore Wind Farms Copy Link

Application Requirements

• Successful proposals will include clear details and steps for their plans to transform the PVC from its current state into a long-term, useful product.
• Ørsted is satisfied with solutions at a large or smaller scale but would like to see physical modifications proposed.
• Applicants who can receive delivery of the TP covers at our facility in the UK Humber region during Q4 2021 will be favoured.

Below is an example of the trial usage for the TP covers fashioned into shopping bags:

Background

The Innovation Exchange programme is working alongside Ørsted to help them reach out to potential innovators that might have solutions involving the upcycling of Transition Piece (TP) covers. The TP cover is a robust, watertight cover that protects the internal working space during the construction phase of an offshore wind turbine. The cover allows works prior to turbine installation to be shielded from the environment and prevents seabirds from being trapped.

The TP covers are only used for one installation, and once turbine assembly is complete, the cover must be disposed of. Ørsted is looking to engage innovators and innovative organisations that might have approaches and solutions for reprocessing TP covers and a suitable and sustainability-promoting end use case. Solutions in or around the Humber region offering a local, sustainable supply chain would be more favourable.

Rationale

Until long-term mitigations can be identified and implemented, the immediate issue of TP cover landfill waste from Hornsea 2 must be solved. To inspire local innovators and possibly create more local jobs, Orsted, therefore, invites the community to work alongside them to turn this waste product into a resource that can be upcycled to create a valuable and sustainable new product. An internal pilot has been run and transformed 15 discarded soft PVC covers into reusable consumer bags. With 100+ covers, however, Ørsted faces a challenge of an entirely different scale.

Presently, no alternative solutions to TP covers have been identified that provide sustainability benefits without sacrificing performance. In addition, this issue will continue as the demand for TP covers will continue to increase corresponding to the increasing demand for offshore wind energy.

Until mitigation measures can be put in place, Ørsted would like to take this opportunity to create an open innovation challenge that will:

• Find sustainability-promoting options to upcycle the TP covers from Hornsea 2 wind farm (HOW02).
• Develop and support waste initiatives that can promote green transformation in local communities.

If successful, the winning proposal(s) would receive the material at no cost and would be encouraged to replicate the process for other types of upcyclable waste.

(Transition piece covers for HOW02)

(Transport bags for covers)

Scale of the problem

During the last half of 2021, construction of the HOW02 project will entail that several tonnes of used TP covers will arrive at the Hull site destined for landfill. By the end of the innovation challenge, most of the material will have arrived for temporary storage in Ørsted’s warehouse, with the rest being delivered incrementally approximately every fortnight. These particular TP covers are made from Panama 900 PVC.

For this challenge, Ørsted’s evaluation will favour submissions from innovators that can demonstrate a sustainable use case for this material. Ideally, the winning proposal(s) will demonstrate the ability to process the waste stream into new products or materials which have a significant life span (12+ months) after upcycling, as opposed to a short period of use prior to being discarded in a landfill.

The challenge may find a suitable solution in an award to more than one provider. The challenge host, KTN, can facilitate relationships should this prove helpful in achieving the upcycling goal. As an example, one synergistic relationship could be introducing a pair of innovators who have either a use case and no ability to process, or a processer with no use case.

It should be noted that the covers have been used at sea and will contain normal surface contaminates like sea salt and avian droppings that will need to be cleaned before processing.

The covers will be brought ashore from the workings of installing the turbine foundations. The present storage facilities are based in the Humber region.

Materials Included

Specification, size, and volume of the problem

Target audiences

Whilst not limiting the technologies from solution providers, it is expected that solutions consider innovations from the following audiences:

Primary target audiences

• Local communities and business owners in the UK; there is a preference for the Humber region for ease of transfer and local impact.
• Universities and technical colleges.
• Charitable and support organisations that may have facilities to manufacture sustainable products.
• Local stakeholders in the Humber region or other parts of the UK, depending on the quality of the upcycling.

Secondary audiences
Sustainability communities and media in the UK.
We anticipate solutions may come from, but are not limited to, the following sectors:

• Mobility
• Robotics
• Automation industries
• Manufacturing
• Automotive
• Aerospace
• Construction/infrastructure
• Electronics
• Fashion
• Education

Potential Uses

Whilst not limiting the technologies from solution providers, some potential use cases for these materials include, but are not limited to:

• Bike panniers
• Construction plastics – piping/drainage, roofing, window frames, flooring
• Plastic processing or manufacturing
• Non-food packaging (NB: this grade of PVC cannot be used in food packaging)
• Stationary supplies
• Cable and wire insulation
• Others

Please note that the material is infused with plasticisers. This means that end uses featuring direct and prolonged contact with either consumables or skin, especially of children, is prohibited.

The challenge owner will not consider solutions that involve:

• Further impact on landfill by the resulting products made by the winning solution(s).

Rewards and Benefits

Successful applicants will be given an opportunity to pitch to the challenger. The package may also include:

• Support and facilities from the challenge holder to test and develop the systems within their own laboratory space with the product needing cleaning.
• Support from KTN.
• Support in the development of a prototype or pilot.
• Technical support.
• Invitation to attend or present at KTN events.
• A potential business collaboration.
• Investor introductions (if investment is required).
• Support if any innovation or similar competitions are relevant.

Solution Requirements

Functional Requirements

• Ørsted is not looking for single-use cases where products are moved on into landfill: Objects of continued use, or products that can be further recycled/upcycled, are expected to be the priority in this challenge.
• The PVC will need to be tracked as part of a disposal route, and Ørsted will need to know the route that the winner will take to move from delivery to the new product and know about any waste streams from upcycling.
• The PVC cannot be used in direct packaging of food items. Proposals with PVC will not be considered, as the PVC may be moved to landfill after use.
• It is desired that the PVC is upcycled in a way that may benefit local communities, potentially made into other goods that can create a social benefit. Ørsted has moved towards being one of the leaders in zero waste in the world and would like to see this product being upcycled into new sustainable items.

Technical Characteristics

• Panama 900 g/m2
• Transport bag: 1m x 0.5 m x 0.5 m
• 3 ratchet straps
• 1 PVC/HDPE water outlet fitting

Operating Conditions

• The PVC has been used at sea and has all the expected contaminates from the North Sea as a surface coating. The grade of PVC will remain consistent.

Deployment Timescale

• Launch of the competition: 12 July 2021
• Deadline for applications: 15 October 2021
• Selection and notification of finalists: 29 October 2021
• Solutions will be:
  - Prioritised for quick pickup from the Ørsted storage space.
  - Deployable on a pilot/test basis within a few months.
  - Deployable as part of a structured rollout plan over the next two years.

Cost Requirement and Market Opportunity

• The PVC will be supplied free of charge, and preference is for a local delivery or pickup.
• Hornsea 2 will provide approximately 100 of the covers, which may equate to between 9.8 and 11.5 tonnes over the second half of this year.

Eligibility and Assessment Criteria

Entrants to this competition must be:

• Established businesses, start-ups, SMEs, individual entrepreneurs, or academia.
• UK-based or have the intention to set up a UK base.

Applications will be assessed on:

• Relevance to the topic
• The degree to which the solution promotes sustainability
• How the solution inspires upcycling of other waste streams
• The innovative nature of the subject
• Coherence of the proposed business model
• Feasibility/financial viability
• Development potential
• Maturity of project/solution
• Ability to launch project quickly/ease of implementation
• Price/quality ratio
• Suitability for the UK and European markets

IP and Potential Commercial Route

• The existing Intellectual Property (IP) associated with a potential solution will remain with the solution provider(s). Where any new IP generation is envisaged, it will be subject to the mutual IP agreement of the solution provider(s) and innovation challenge host.
• Any commercial deployment of transferred or newly developed solutions through licensing, joint venture, partnership or direct investment will be subject to the commercial agreement between the solution provider(s) and the innovation challenge host.
• If necessary, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) may be signed to uphold confidentiality in the engagement between the solution provider(s) and the innovation challenge host (this would take place after the selection of the company, and it is suggested that details of IP are not disclosed.
• Innovate UK and KTN will not take any share of IP ownership or enter into commercial venture through the iX programme.