Mission
Vattenfall is an international energy company. Vattenfall's goal is fossil freedom - a future where everyone can choose a fossil free way to move, make and live. Vattenfall's ambition is that by 2040, they won’t use fossil fuels (eg. coal, oil, natural gas or peat) or any fuels derived from fossil fuels (eg. blue hydrogen) in any electricity or heat that which they produce. ​
Innovation through collaboration
To make fossil freedom a reality, Vattenfall is collaborating with other sectors and industries on fossil-free solutions beyond electricity and heat. Fossil-free travel and transport, for example, through working on fossil free energy solutions, such ase-mobility, hydrogen as a fuel and e-fuels. ut also fossil free construction materials, such as fossil free steel, and near-zero carbon cement and aluminium. ​
With a dedicated team of 20,000 employees and 10 million customers in 8 countries, Vattenfall possesses the technical expertise, determination and vision to make a meaningful impact. We invite everyone to join us on this transformative journey to fossil freedom. Together, we can create a world that is sustainable and free of fossil fuels.
This mission connects Vattenfall and Dutch Design Foundation as sustainable partners. By linking the power of design to Vattenfall's innovation teams, we expect to make great strides together. In this introductory year, in addition to the What if Lab, the collaboration will be given further substance.
What if Lab
Vattenfall has launched a collaboration with What if Lab. Vattenfall is aiming towards fossil freedom. In order to meet the growing demand for energy in a sustainable way, wind turbines are crucial. While generating fossil free energy, we also need to ensure that the entire life cycle of a wind farm is as sustainable as possible. Therefore, circularity is important when designing new wind farms.
Yet, turbines in a wind farm have an operational life of about 30 years. This means we are now entering a phase in which the first wind farms must be taken out of operation. Followed by many more in the coming years. What happens to the decommissioned parts of the wind turbines? While recycling is a step in the right direction, it requires a lot of energy. What opportunities exist to reuse these wind turbine parts in a circular way?
Vattenfall is forging ahead with several initiatives in this area. Our innovation team wants to harness the brainpower of specialist designers to complete the circular raw materials chain. This is why What if Lab and Vattenfall are joining forces with the goal: What if... decommissioning a wind farm became a gold mine of resources? For this we are looking for three designers (an industrial designer, system designer and urban architect) to develop scenarios in which the second life phase of wind turbines is maximised with minimal energy input, creating a sustainable and economical circular economy. This will create wind farms with minimal material footprint and maximise the output of a wind turbine over its lifetime.
