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The wind energy market has long been considered the world’s largest market, by volume, for glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites — and increasingly, carbon fiber composites — as larger turbines and longer wind blades are developed, requiring higher performance, lighter weight materials. The outer skins of wind and tidal turbine blades generally comprise infused, GFRP laminates sandwiching foam core. Inside the blade, rib-like shear webs bonded to spar caps reinforce the structure. Spar caps are often made from GFRP or, as blade lengths lengthen, pultruded carbon fiber for additional strength.

Today’s myriad chemistry options enable formulators to tailor adhesives to customers' exact application requirements.

Wind dominates new U.S. power generation, Massachusetts offshore wind auction slated for January; Apple, Google and Microsoft data centers use renewable energy to cut costs and Alberta, Canada offers C$ 2 million for energy storage solutions.

Eleven winning innovations were chosen, out of the thirty finalists that had been previously selected from more than 100 applications from all over the world.

2015 ranks as the third highest year for wind installations on record.

The highest-performing facilities from the 2022 CW Top Shops benchmarking survey share insights about business growth, overcoming labor shortages, sustainability best practices and more.

New hires, appointments and changes in leadership have been announced by Norplex, Michelman, Teijin, Exel Composites, Virgin Galactic, Swinburne, SGL Carbon, Airbus SE, Mahr, Composites Evolution and Argosy.

CW contributor Dale Brosius, a composites industry consultant and the chief commercialization officer for the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), points to evidence that the composites industry will, once again, be the beneficiary of renewed drive for space exploration.

The U.S. Congress is considering extending the renewable energy production tax credit, which bodes well for wind turbine manufacturers. But despite wind's dropping costs, we still live in a world oriented toward and dependent on coal for electricity.

Saertex reinforcements, infusion, speed of fabrication and long life.

Composites may have new function as phase change materials (PCMs) for managing electric vehicle temperature and range.