The effective use of heat pumps for high temperature industrial processes, such as drying in brick making, has been advancing well thanks to a 13 party consortium in Europe called DryFiciency. By working through the challenges of lubricants, refrigerants, compressors and many other aspects of high-temp industrial processes, DryFiciency's pilot projects have; saved 80% of energy used in industrial drying processes, reduced CO2 emissions by up to 75% and reduced the cost of production up to 20%/kg product. https://youtu.be/tvtnUKl2GHQ
The Hydrogen Energy Release Optimiser (HERO) converts hydrogen into continuous industrial heat without combustion. This means high-heat, high emission processes such as coal-fired or gas-fired boilers, could be replaced with zero emission options. The inventor of the Optimser, Star Scientific, apparently won the inaugural World Hydrogen Awards’ Industrial Application category and was also awarded the 2020 S&P Platts Global Energy Awards’ Emerging Technology of the Year. Mars Food Australia, is looking at a piloting the technology in its manufacturing operations during 2022 and 2023.
Options to re-purpose old wind turbine blades are currently pretty limited. But in 2021, a small pilot pedestrian bridge made from decommissioned wind turbine blades was installed in Cork, Ireland. Apparently the strength of the material, the hollow interior and the aesthetics of the shape resulted in a decision to explore the possibility of using blades to replace the traditional steel components - such as steel girders. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b324c409772ae52fecb6698/t/612cdad0fb277e4beaffb917/1630329554458/Leahy_ITRN_2021_Blade_Bridge.pdf
Wind turbine blades can be over 80 - 100m in length, are made from a range of composite materials which are melded together so effectively as to withstand extreme environments. As such, disassembling blades at the end of their useful life can pose a significant challenge. Most blades are simply sent to land-fill to be buried. In 2021, Siemens Gamesa replaced the traditional resin used in blade manufacturing, with one that can be easily dissolved, enabling the blade components (fiberglass, plastic, wood and metals) to be separated and recovered. https://www.siemensgamesa.com/en-int/newsroom/2021/09/launch-world-first-recyclable-wind-turbine-blade