Synergies

REFRESH

REFRESH (Smart dismantling, sorting and REcycling of glass Fibre REinforced composite from wind power Sector through Holistic approach) is a European project to develop and demonstrate a novel circular, smart system enabling improved recycling of glass fibre reinforced composites derived from wind turbine dismantling or reblading. New developments elaborated during the project will push technologies to maximise the volume and quality of the materials recovered. REFRESH will seek to reintroduce secondary raw materials into the value chains of the energy sector as well as other markets. This will allow potential savings of 52,000,000 tons in virgin raw materials eight years after project completion. The REFRESH concept also has significant potential for replication in other large markets where use of composite materials is increasing.

EoLO-HUBs

The European project EoLO HUBS “Wind turbine blades End of Life through Open HUBs for circular materials in sustainable business models” has the ambition to recover glass and carbon fibre from wind turbine blades at the end of their useful lives and create a knowledge hub to facilitate the recycling.

EuReComp

EuReComp is an EU funded collaborative research project with a strong focus on circularity, set out to provide sustainable methods towards recycling and reuse of composite materials, coming from components used in various industries, such as aeronautics and wind energy. The cumulating composite wastes are more prominent than the needed new composites. The aircraft and wind energy sectors contribute to a major share of this. Across all industries about 60% of waste fibre reinforced composites is landfilled, causing severe societal and environmental issues. EU’s Circular Economy plan seeks to reduce the landfill down to 10% by increasing the rate of recycling. As landfilling is highly discouraged in wind and transport sectors, relevant stakeholders seek to replace it with more advanced technologies and end-of-life options, which promote the recycling of carbon fibres.

JIDEP

JIDEP is a digital space where industrial data is available for sharing and connecting manufacturers from different sectors into a collaborative, mutually beneficial knowledge and data-sharing relationship. This project builds upon the principles of Industry 4.0 by adopting a coherent approach to semantic communication between diverse actors, aiming to make both direct and indirect contributions to the EU climate neutrality goals of 2050. The JIDEP tools will help organisations to unlock the value of data, leading to the development of more sustainable solutions, technologies, and materials.The JIDEP platform will be designed to cover the entire product life cycle and assist in steering it toward circular standards implementation at both technological and regulatory levels. While the JIDEP architecture and design principles are industry-agnostic, the implementation of JIDEP in the project will focus on composite materials and Printed Circuit Board (PCB). 

RECREATE

RECREATE’s ambition is to provide a competitive advantage to the European manufacturing industry by bringing innovative technologies to life that will enable the circularity of complex composite materials, turning what we consider nowadays end-of-life composite waste into feedstock for profitable use. The main objective of the RECREATE project is to develop a set of innovative technologies aimed at exploiting the potential of end-of-life complex composite waste (mainly carbon fiber reinforced composites, and glass fiber reinforced composites) as a feedstock for profitable reuse of parts and materials in the manufacturing industry.

CIRCULess

CIRCULess targets on fostering circularity in the construction and manufacturing process industries, by minimizing Construction and Demolition waste (C&DW) as well as Manufacturing waste (MW), with a focus on mineral and timber-based material streams, by developing new processes for circularity of secondary materials from wastes/residues for all industrial processes, without compromising quality and performance as well as sustainable-by-design circular products. CIRCULess project will experiment with new circular products and processing techniques to improve the quality and performance of secondary materials up to industry standards and improve environmental friendliness. These actions will be supported by a tailored digital platform for waste management, orienting decision-making & operation, while recommendations for standards updates and relevant training material for both upskilling and training will be created.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them.