The Wind2Water catamaran, upcycled from end-of-life wind blades

Akvotransiro Tech, an Indian startup based in Guwahati, has manufactured and tested a four-person catamaran built from discarded wind turbine blades using a technology named “Wind2Water”, for which a patent is being considered. Extensively tested on Deepor Beel, near Guwahati, the prototype has proven stable, maneuverable and robust. Akvotransiro says that these types of vessels, which will be safe and affordable, are intended for developing countries as well as for environmentally conscious buyers.

With over 43 million metric tonnes of blade waste expected globally by 2050, and India alone projected to generate 25,000–30,000 tonnes annually by 2030, the company’s Wind2Water technology re-employs end-of-life blades into modular hulls, pontoons and docks. The approach has several advantages: it enables to manufacture affordable, low-maintenance vessels for inland and coastal transport, but also reduces landfill disposal costs for wind firms and minimises waste, therefore positioning India as a leader in blade up-cycling.

We all know that managing wind turbine blade waste is a challenge to the renewable energy sector. More than 341,000 operational turbines worldwide will eventually contribute to an estimated 43 million metric tonnes of composite blade waste by 2050, according to research from Cambridge University. India, which has installed 43.7 GW of wind capacity and is targeting 170 GW by 2025, is projected to generate 25,000– 30,000 metric tonnes of discarded blades annually by 2030. To be noted that the blades are built from non-recyclable fibreglass and carbon fibre and each one weighs 10–25 tonnes.

The hulls of Akvotransiro’s vessel are repurposed from the tip section of a wind blade, while the frames and the deck are from Bamboo composites. “Every wind turbine blade is an environmental disposal headache in the waiting,” said Ravi Jyoti Deka, founder of Akvotransiro. “We have shown they can be re-engineered into reliable working boats that not only address waste but also provide the water transport solutions that developing countries urgently need. This is not a concept note, it’s a working vessel ready to scale.

Founded in 2020 and supported by the Technology Innovation Hub at IIT Guwahati, Akvotransiro is India’s first startup dedicated to green, affordable water transport solutions. The company pioneered BamBateau bamboo-composite boats, creating unsinkable flood-rescue craft, lightweight fishing canoes and an 18-passenger river trimaran. Its bamboo-composite process remains one of the world’s only proven, production-ready sustainable boatbuilding technologies. Wind2Water extends this legacy, demonstrating how end-of-life blades can be transformed into modular hulls, floating docks and pontoons. The Wind2Water proposal was a finalist in the EU’s Horizon 2020 EIC programme, but could not advance due to country restrictions. Now, with full-scale trials in India, the concept has moved decisively from theory to practice.

The working life of discarded blades extended by 10–15 years:

Akvotransiro is developing 24–36m multipurpose catamarans (up to 25 tons displacement) for inland and coastal transport, but also 10–12m catamarans, pontoon boats and trimarans built from blade sections, as well as low-carbon floating docks and jetties derived from turbine blade stems. The customers expected are wind energy companies, currently paying up to €18,000 per 10MT blade for co-processing in cement plants, or €5,000 for landfill disposal, but also inland water transport operators in developing nations, where blade-derived hulls can be built at one-third to one-quarter the cost of conventional vessels and shipped worldwide for on-site assembly.

The Wind2Water project extends the working life of discarded blades by 10–15 years, without energy-intensive recycling. With this milestone, Akvotransiro is seeking global partners across the wind energy sector to advance to the next stage: building a full-scale 12-38 meter multi-purpose catamarans and scaling the Wind2Water technology internationally.

source: Akvotransiro/ JEC Composites