Skis made from recycled turbine blades to hit the slopes
Skis from recycled turbine blades are set to hit the slopes as part of an energy company's circular economy efforts.
Swedish state-owned firm Vattenfall has collaborated with material extraction firm Gjenkraft and sustainable ski-maker Evi to use alternative materials for high-performance skis.
While large parts of end-of-service wind turbines can be recycled, the composite make-up of the blades means separating and recycling the materials at scale is difficult.
Vattenfall has been rolling out a series of projects to find solutions that can help the firm meet its target to be able to recycle 100% of its turbines by 2030.
The energy firm joined the collaboration with Gjenkraft and Evi to transform broken or worn-out skis into new pairs, incorporating carbon fibres extracted from decommissioned Vattenfall blades to reinforce the skis, enhancing their durability and performance.
Vattenfall said it has so far ordered 15 pairs from Evi, including alpine skis, carving skis and one pair of race skis.
A ski test site will be set up next to the racetrack at the World Cup Women's slalom in Are, Sweden, on March 8 and 9, where visitors can test the skis, the firm said.
Gustav Frid, environment and sustainability specialist at Vattenfall, said: 'Circularity is essential to securing future resource needs, reducing costs and achieving our sustainability targets.
'This project perfectly illustrates how technology provides a sustainable alternative to traditional ski-making materials.
'We hope it will inspire others and foster new ideas for accelerating circularity.'
Marcin Rusin, co-founder of Gjenkraft, said: 'Our goal has always been to demonstrate that this issue can be resolved.
'We already had the technology to recover valuable raw materials from composite waste, the next step was to find a high-end product that would appeal to the public.
'As a Norwegian company with team members who are enthusiastic about skiing, deciding to manufacture skis was a natural fit. We are very excited to see this concept come to fruition.'
Endre Hals, founder of Evi skis, said: 'We are humbly aware that a small ski producer like Evi will never be able to make a big impact on the use of this kind of industrial waste.
'Therefore, we are extra stoked that Gjenkraft and Vattenfall want to work with us to realise this awesome vision for the future of product development.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
3 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Fifa warned about free speech restrictions at 2026 World Cup
The warnings follow recent US government policies under President Donald Trump, which include a travel ban affecting 12 countries, such as World Cup qualifier Iran, and heightened criticism over responses to civil unrest. The United States will co-host the tournament alongside Canada and Mexico, with California's Rose Bowl also set to host matches during the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, which starts on Saturday. Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, said: "Fans travel to the World Cup to celebrate and express their passion and any attempt to curtail our fundamental rights, including the right to free speech, is a betrayal of the spirit of football. "We're particularly concerned about the potential for selective enforcement and discrimination against fans based on our perceived political views or national origin. "FIFA must obtain the necessary guarantees to ensure fans from all over the world are able to safely travel and attend the games." Human rights organisations have voiced concerns about increasing restrictions on freedom of expression, particularly regarding pro-Palestinian protests. Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, said: "FIFA should publicly acknowledge the threat US immigration and other anti-human rights policies pose to the tournament's integrity and use its leverage with the US government to ensure that the rights of all qualified teams, support staff, media and fans are respected as they seek to enter the United States, regardless of nationality, gender identity, religion or opinion." The US government has stated that the travel ban will not apply to players or team staff from qualified nations. However, it will prevent fans from Iran and other affected countries from attending matches in person. FIFA and the US State Department have been contacted for comment.
Spectator
3 hours ago
- Spectator
Wild horses
Magnus Carlsen slammed the table with such force that the pieces jumped from the board. Immediately, he resigned his game against teenage world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, who thereby achieved his first victory in a classical (slow) game against the world no 1. His comment on Carlsen's pique was typically gracious: 'I've also banged a lot of tables in my career.' It was surely the manner of the loss which exasperated Carlsen. The Norwegian had reached a winning position with plenty of time on the clock, but missed opportunities to convert. Gukesh clung on until they reached the position below, when Carlsen, with less than a minute left, made a critical miscalculation: Gukesh Dommaraju – Magnus Carlsen Norway Chess 2025 52… Ne2+?? 52…Re8! would have forced Gukesh to tread carefully. One path to a draw is 53 Nxe5 Ne2+ 54 Rxe2+ Kxe2 55 Kf4! d4. Here, 56 h5 looks plausible, but 56…gxh5 57 gxh5 Rxe5 58 Kxe5 d3 59 h6 d2 60 h7 d1=Q 61 h8=Q Qa1+ wins with a skewer. Instead, the circumspect 56 Nc4! d3 57 h5 gxh5 58 gxh5 secures the draw. The knight will be sacrificed the knight for the d-pawn while the h-pawn advances to win the rook. 53 Rxe2+ Kxe2 54 Nxf8 d4 At first glance, the knight cannot prevent the d-pawn from promoting, as indeed it cannot after 55 Nxg6? d3. Probably Carlsen also saw that 55 h5 gxh5 56 gxh5 d3 57 h6 d2 58 h7 d1=Q 59 h8=Q Qg1+ 60 Kh3 Qh1+ wins the queen with a skewer. But the knight is the trickiest of pieces: 55 Ne6! d3 56 Nc5 Ke3 A desperate try from Carlsen, as 56… d2 57 Ne4! d1=Q 58 Nc3+ wins easily. 57 Na4 e4 58 h5 gxh5 59 gxh5 Kd2 60 Nb2! Another precise move. Bringing the knight to c4 is the only way to win. e3 61 Nc4+ Ke2 62 Kf4 Black resigns as 62…d2 63 Nxe3 wins easily. Gukesh's display of agility with his knight is reminiscent of an endgame study (i.e. puzzle) by the great Soviet composer Nikolai Grigoriev. White to play and draw Faced with the advancing b-pawn, White's plight appears desperate. For example, 1 Kg2 Kc5 2 Nc7 b3 3 Ne6+ Kc4 and the pawn cannot be stopped. 1 Nc7+ Kc4 2 Ne8 By the mysterious geometry of knights, going forwards is the fastest way back. b3 3 Nd6+ Kc3 or 3…Kd3 4 Nb5 b2 5 Na3 is just in time. 4 Ne4+ Kc2 5 Nd6! Once again, the knight's direction defies expectations. b2 6 Nc4! Gukesh employed the same idea. But not 6 Nb5 Kb3 7 Nd4+ Kc3 8 Nb5 Kb4! and Black wins. b1=Q 7 Na3+ Draw
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Dave Ryding, Britain's most successful Alpine skier, to retire at end of 2025-26 season
Dave Ryding, Britain's first-ever Alpine skiing World Cup winner and one of Britain's all-time greatest winter sport athletes, will retire at the close of the 2025-26 season. The 38-year-old has competed on the elite circuit for ten years, securing seven podiums – six in slalom, one in parallel slalom – in that time. The highlight of his career to date was a historic win in Kitzbuhel in 2022, the first by a Brit in the World Cup's 55-year history. Ryding is one of four British skiers to have ever recorded World Cup podiums - the most recent a third place in Madonna di Campiglio in December 2023 - and the only one to claim a victory, as well as amassing three World Championships top-10s and two Olympic top-10s over the course of his career. Ryding said it was a 'natural' decision to retire and that it was important for him to go out on a high. He recorded his best-ever World Championships results in the 2024-25 edition in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, a sixth place in slalom, and his goal is to secure a similar career best in the Winter Olympics next year. The Lancashire native told The Independent that, 'After the last Olympics, I think I was quoted as saying, I'd rather cry than do another four years, or have a divorce or something like that! I wasn't thinking I would get another four years out of myself. As you get older the younger guys catch you up and you naturally peter out. So I took it year by year, and I really felt like I went in all in every year.' But the drive and hunger to compete remained, and with Milan-Cortina on the horizon, Ryding says it felt like the 'right time' to announce this would be his final season. 'It was quite an easy decision, taking into consideration my family as well and the sacrifices they make with me being away. It was nice to think, let's draw a line there and go absolutely all in again, and then come the Olympics try to do my best ever performance.' Ryding, who is Britain's highest-ranked Alpine skier, competed in seven world Championships and Milan-Cortina is set to be his fifth Olympics for Great Britain. He took a different route than most elite Alpine skiers, growing up training and competing on dry slopes in the UK before making the transition to snow in his 20s. He made his debut on the World Cup circuit in 2009, making history as the oldest race winner in 2022 aged 35, as well as the first Briton. His highest placing at an Olympics so far was ninth in slalom in Pyeongchang in 2018. He will likely continue to contest the final World Cups of the 2025-26 season after the Games next February, but that will be his final major goal as a professional athlete. 'Whether that's the number one spot or eighth, let's see, but I want to be better than ninth and sign off with my best ever Olympic result,' he said. 'That's exactly where my mind's at, to do the best I've ever done.'
