Objective

The project objective is to compile different methods to improve collection of WEEE from household waste, under different circumstances in the EU and spread this information throughout the target audience; businesses, other organisations concerning (WEEE) and Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) production.

The solution (technology)

The dissemination of the information is set within raising awareness at large towards the (secondary) raw materials sector. The dissemination of the information is by workshops. These workshops will be tested during the dissemination, and business models of giving these workshops will be tested. The target end-customers and key beneficiaries of this educational activity are on one side the businesses who can remove obsolete EEE and WEEE at lower cost or more income, and on the other side the recycling, remanufacturing and repair businesses who need more (W)EEE as an input. The major contribution to the target audience is lowering the collection costs (municipals) and organise more input for processing (recycling, remanufacturing and repair). The scope of the project is to compile different methods to improve collection WEEE from businesses and spread this information to the target audience. The key deliverables are a website with an overview of these methods for separate EEE/WEEE collection in businesses, workshops for at least 200 companies and a document on best practices how to give these workshops and a business model for these workshops for the KIC-LE. The website will also be a platform for businesses to connect with each other to exchange EEE/WEEE, and to benchmark with other businesses. The main impact is to lower the costs of WEEE disposal for businesses, increase the amount of WEEE for recycling and EEE for repair and remanufacturing companies.

Partnership

• Technische Universiteit Delft (Delft University of Technology), the Netherlands (Lead Partner)
• Bay Zoltan Nonprofit Ltd. for Applied Research, Hungary
• Ghent University, Belgium
• Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie GmbH (Wuppertal Institute), Belgium
• Zavod za gradbenistvo Slovenije, ZAG (Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute), Slovenia

For more information, please visit the project website.

Objective:

C-BOOT is a coaching programme to support aspiring circular entrepreneurs with the development of a solid business pitch ready for further support in the EIT-RM Start-up acceleration programme. The programme targets a broad range of students and professionals with initial ideas focused on the CE’s inner circles, and takes them on a journey of three exploration trips, consisting of learning activities, site visits and coaching.

The solution (technology):

C-BOOT is an international coaching program that helps aspiring entrepreneurs with identifying and sharpening their circular business idea. The programme targets master and PhD students, young graduates, professionals and entrepreneurs with some prior knowledge on circular economy concepts (e.g. acquired during one of the existing circular economy related MOOCs or summer schools), but especially a demonstrated interest in setting up a circular business. After the C-BOOT programme, participants will have a clear circular business pitch on which they can build a start-up, as well as having the skills to engage in a start-up endeavour. With this experience, they should be able to be accepted into existing start-up incubator or accelerator programmes, such as the EIT RawMaterials start-up acceleration programme.

The programme consists of a series of brief, focused bootcamps in Belgium, Sweden and Italy, during which participants will receive a mix of education, coaching and inspirational activities. Using different educational formats and coaching approaches, participants will spot circular business innovation opportunities, and start building a business concept to capture those opportunities. The programme uses a societal and customer need driven perspective (as opposed to the technology or solution-driven perspectives commonly used) to identify solutions for the inner circles of the circular economy that create added value for customers and for society as a whole.

Partners:

Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek NV (VITO), Belgium (Lead Partner)
Lund University, Sweden
Università degli Studi di Trento, Italy

For more information, please visit the project website.

Project duration: 1 April 2019 – 31 March 2022

Objective

Existing CO2 emissions regulations force car manufacturers to aim at significant weight reduction, which seems possible only through the substitution of metals (which are also critical raw materials) with polymer composite materials (PMC). These PMC, however, should also be recyclable, in order to be compliant with End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) regulations as well as low cost, in order to be mass produced. Currently, PMC are used only for luxury cars, and are not environmentally friendly, due to the significant productions of wastes during production and non-recyclability.

The solution (technology)

C2CC will employ new basalt derived mineral fibres (BDMF) which are fully recyclable. They will be associated with innovative bio-mass derived thermo-set resins to produce Basalt-PMC (B-PMC) that can be chemically “cleaved” to recovery both a polymer (which will be used for producing automotive internal parts) and the fibres (which will be re-employed for the original components). The project will bring this solution on the verge of being mass produced and will assess all environmental benefits of the new solution, particularly lower energy use and lower C-emissions.

Partnership

• Agenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie, l’Energia e lo Sviluppo Economico Sostenibile (ENEA), Italy (Lead Partner)
• AM Composites, Italy
• Centro Ricerche Fiat S.C.p.A. (CRF – C.R.F.), Italy
• Fundacion GAIKER, Spain
• GS4C srl, Italy
• Hijos de A. Ferrer Dalmau, S.A., Spain
• Université de Bordeaux, France

Project duration: 1 January 2016 – 31 December 2018

Objective

Continuous fiber reinforced plastic can achieve weight reductions of 60% compare with steel but its introduction in the automotive sector remains limited to niche luxury and premium concepts (small series) due mainly to the cycle times, the production costs and the price of raw materials.

The project intent to address this problem scaling to a medium-high volume automobile condition a technology for processing thermoplastic structural composites that has shown its capability to manufacture the automotive structural part with lower costs.
Besides the cost issue, the recyclability is the other big limitation for the use of continuous fiber reinforced plastic: thermoplastics offers this advantage together with high impact resistant and good weldability.

The solution (technology)

Development of a new process for composite continuous fiber composites manufacturing based on the in situ polymerization process of ε-caprolactame to obtain continuous reinforced APA6 parts.

• A preindustrial equipment (TRL 7) based on an existing industrial solution (RTM or injection) with the modifications required for AP6 in situ polymerization (mixing head, dosing system, …) that were already tested in TECNALIA laboratory prototype (TRL 5) and the automatization necessary to achieve a cycle time of minutes;
• Raw materials (Fibers, sizing, additive and binders) optimized for AP6 matrix in term of behavior and cost;
• Process parameters optimized for one industrial case (selected between 3 business cases: bumper beam, subframe or brake pedal);
• Mold for the selected industrial case with a cooling and heating system that allow cycle time of 3 min;
• Industrial case validated under automotive performance conditions that will depend on the case selected but it will include: dimensional stability, resistance test, crash test,…;
• Final estimation of the deployment and implementation of a production line for the industrial case selected including inversion (equipment cost) and other production cost and the final cost of the component.

Partnership

• MONDRAGON Corporation S. COOP, Spain (Lead Partner)
• BATZ S. Coop, Spain
• TECNALIA R&I, Spain
• Arkema, France

Objective:

The project aims to launch a strong progression to make remanufacturing the new norm through training design for remanufacturing using problem based learning in industrial boot camps. 10-15 Reman bootcamps are developed and piloted with companies and their value chains. In addition to a strong industrial partner,there are LOIs from 6 organizations. The bootcamp material will be prepared for a consultancy package with a marketing & delivery plan.

The solution (technology):

Remanufacturing is an efficient means to support the resource efficiency of raw materials and the availability of critical materials through “ultimate circular economy”. The remanufacturing option may be significantly contributed to by appropriate design of products. Taking into account the whole value chain in design is also essential. This project will develop and make available training for design for remanufacturing. The training is aimed at companies designing and producing products. The target of the training includes a group representing different company functions and/or areas of the value chain, e.g. design, production, maintenance, subcontracting, sales, and after sales. The training will be carried out in the form of bootcamps where the group solves a real remanufacturing design case applying a Problem Based Learning approach.

The group will collaboratively and actively learn remanufacturing design principles and develop practices with the support of tutors and supporting materials. Collaborative development practices and the use of digital information sources are learnt in addition to individual development and is an essential part of remanufacturing design process. The project will arrange a number of bootcamps to project participants, organizations with LOIs, their networks and value chains. The guidelines for arranging bootcamps and the material supporting learning will be made widely available and developed into a consultancy package which can also be used commercially after the project.

Partners:

Teknologian tutkimuskeskus VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. VTT), Finland (Lead Partner)
Institut polytechnique de Grenoble (Grenoble Institute of Technology, INP), France
Metso Minerals Oy, Finland
Technische Universiteit Delft (Delft University of Technology), Netherlands

For more information, please visit the project web page.

Objective

The project makes career opportunities more accessible to people in Eastern Europe from the Baltic States, Poland and South-East Europe.

The solution (technology)

CLC Baltic Sea and CLC East will host a Careers Fair in three locations in Eastern Europe. The events will be promoted targeting professionals, undergraduates and recent graduates from education programmes relevant to the raw materials sectors in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and the ESEE region. At the events, participants will get the opportunity to meet and discuss with representatives from EIT RawMaterials partner organisations and other firms in the sector as well as education KAVA projects. The concept is to minimize the risk that people are underemployed while firms simultaneously experience skills shortages. A benchmark for the event is the successful youth employment events organised in Finland (see more here). Up to 2000 participants are expected to participate.

Partnership

• AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland

Project duration: 1 July 2017 – 31 December 2019

CARONTE intend to broaden the knowledge of professionals, educating SMEs R&D managers/directors and R&D&I consultants that, within their companies or companies’ portfolio, should be able to drive innovation based on a comprehensive knowledge of the state of the art of science and technology, identifying scientific and technical information relevant for their business, and determine how innovation may by applied to their business in order to evolve products or services and transform the business model, anticipating competitors.

Objective

The objective of this project is to design, pilot and disseminate within companies innovative approaches and strategies in retrieving, effectively organizing and properly sharing (among colleagues) scientific and technical information regarding the science and innovation frontiers, in order to speed up the time-to-market of innovative products.

The solution (technology)

To gather accurate knowledge from the target audience of the industrial counterparts, a suitable questionnaire and one-to-one interviews with selected R&D managers/research group coordinators/directors and R&D&I consultants will be designed, distributed/performed and analysed. Consequently, suitable learning modules specifically conceived to be combined in various blended learning/e-learning courses will be developed and an e-learning platform will be implemented using a free and open-source software learning management system, customized to be used as an environment for learning communities.

Partnership

• Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Italy
• Zanardi Fonderie S.p.A, Italy
• Consell general de Cambres de Comerc Industria i Navegacio de Catalunya, Italy
• Magnesitas Navarras S.A, Italy
• Finnish Metals and Engineering Competence Cluster, Italy
• FIMECC, Finland
• National Technical University of Athens, Greece
• CSCS, Italy

For more information, please visit the project website.

Objective

The objective of this project is to design, pilot and disseminate within companies (that operate in the raw materials sector and that focus their activities on recycling a substitution themes) innovative approaches and strategies in retrieving, effectively organizing and properly sharing (among colleagues) scientific and technical information regarding the science and innovation frontiers, in order to speed up the time-to-market of innovative products.

The solution (technology)

In turn, the foreseen main impact of the project concern with learning/improving digital competencies within SMEs; access to relevant information in order to address innovation; build-up of a collaborative culture within companies; reduce the time-to-market of upcoming innovative products by reducing wasting time due to the multiplication of employees’ efforts in information searching; companies savings in respect of information searches (in 2007 an UK research study estimated that UK SMEs wasted over £3.7 billion per year in terms of time wasted through inefficient use of the internet as a research tool [Martin De Saulles (2007)]).

Partnership

• Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Italy
• Centro Studi Cultura Sviluppo (CSCS), Italy
• Consell general de Cambres de Comerc Industria i Navegacio de Catalunya (General Council of the Catalan Chambers of Commerce), Spain
• Digital, Internet, Materials & Engineering Co-Creation (DIMECC), Finland
• Magnesitas Navarras S.A., Spain
• National Technical University of Athens, Greece
• Zanardi Fonderie S.p.A, Italy

Project duration: 1 January 2019 – 30 June 2022

Objective

Nowadays, most ores and metals are imported to Europe, which, inherently, already constitutes a growing geopolitical concern. In the meantime a great deal of valuable industrial waste with high metallic content is also unused, diluted with other waste streams or dumped in landfills. However, most of the time, these wastes contain a mix of carbon/graphite, iron, silicon and valuable metals as manganese, copper and nickel, which could be valorized by the industry.

The solution (technology)

To allow greater reuse of these materials, speed up the recycling and extend activities related to the circular economy, this project aims to develop a new concept: the production of raw materials dedicated to foundries from wastes containing carbon/graphite, silicon and metals such as carbon, silicon and iron (CarSiFer). To transform waste into a useful metallurgical product for foundries, the project will be addressing several aspects ranging from the identification and collection of waste streams to the actual treatment of the material through briquetting, and finally deliveries to foundries for validation.

Partnership

• Recyclage et Valorisation Technique, Belgium (Lead Partner)
• Centre de Recherches Métallurgiques asbl (CRM Group), Belgium
• Eco’Ring, France
• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. (Fraunhofer), Germany
• SUEZ Groupe SAS, France