Independent engineering services for composite end-of-life and recycling projects
Asset owners, decommissioning contractors, recyclers, investors, lenders and public funders engage RCA at the stage where an independent engineering view changes the decision. We work as an independent adviser to the client, or as the specialist composites adviser alongside a lead technical adviser or within a project team.
Composite end-of-life and decommissioning advisory
We start from the laminate. For wind blades, boat hulls and aerospace components we establish what the stream actually contains, including glass and carbon fibre, aramid, balsa and foam cores, honeycomb, resin systems, coatings and metal inserts, and we use that inventory to shortlist the recovery routes that can accept it. We compare mechanical recycling, pyrolysis, solvolysis, cement co-processing and hybrid routes on a common basis of technology maturity, cost per tonne, product quality, logistics and counterparty risk. For owners and decommissioners we review provisions, dismantling and transport plans, and the contractual obligations that should follow the material once it leaves the site.
Recycling plant technical due diligence
For investors, lenders and grant bodies we test whether a composite recycling project can deliver what its business plan promises. The review covers the security and specification of the feedstock, the mass and energy balance, the maturity and scale-up risk of the process, the quality of the recovered product and the evidence of demand for it, capital and operating costs, permitting, and the structure of the EPC and supply contracts. Our conclusions are set out in a report that a credit or investment committee can use directly.
Process plant due diligence for gasification, pyrolysis and waste-to-energy
The same discipline applies to thermal conversion and waste-to-energy projects. We review process design, feedstock and emissions assumptions, equipment specifications, performance guarantees and FIDIC-based EPC contracts, drawing on decades of design, procurement and commissioning experience in biomass gasification and waste-to-energy plants.
Two fixed-scope reviews to start with
The Decommissioning Provision Rapid Review gives a wind portfolio owner, buyer or lender an independent and defensible view of the end-of-life liability within ten working days, under a non-disclosure agreement. The Recycling Plant Bankability Review tests a composite recycling facility before financial close or grant justification and identifies the points a lender or funder will question. Both reviews are scoped in writing before work starts, and both can lead into a full due diligence if the client needs one.
What you receive
Depending on the engagement, deliverables include a feedstock specification, a comparison of recovery routes, a mass and energy balance, a financial model with sensitivities, a risk register and a contract review memorandum. Every report states its sources and its assumptions and is signed by a registered engineer.