Solid urban waste (SUW) is an abundant source for circular products production, but it is generally not exploited. In fact, over 500 kg of municipal waste per capita were generated in the EU in 2020, while only 45% was recycled. The proximity of resources and people, a sufficient scale for effective markets and the ability to shape urban planning and policy are key factors for cities to achieve advancements in this area. REDOL has been conceived to take advantage of this scenario and transform cities into hubs for circularity that implement zero residues strategies while fostering industrial-urban symbiosis (I-US) approaches among local and regional actors. To this end, REDOL will redesign 5 value chains for SUW (packaging, plastics, CDW, textiles, WEEE) ending-up in the production of 12 circular products. Along the value chains a range of new solutions will be implemented for 1) upgrading management technologies to collect, sort and classify SUW, 2) enhancing the processing routes of sorted materials to avoid landfilling and 3) applying cutting-edge digital tools to optimize value chains and interaction among key players. Moreover, REDOL will provide the required organizational procedures, business models and social innovation actions required for the establishment of successful I-US interactions and hubs for circularity at local level. Such an approach will result in the development of guidelines and recommendations for major decision-making bodies and will achieve improved citizens’ perception on SUW as a local resource and on recycled products, thus increasing their participation in separate collection schemes. REDOL will be implemented in Aragon, with Zaragoza in the center of the hub for circularity. This way, REDOL will support its transition towards a zero residues city by 2040. This will imply 144.720 tons SUW/year being re-used, valorized or transformed into secondary raw materials, leveraging economic and GHG emissions savings over 14B€ and 280 ktCO2/year

The use of plastic products has increased significantly due to their versatility, ease of manufacture, and affordability. However, the excessive production and disposal of plastics have led to environmental concerns. Packaging and construction are the largest end-use markets for plastics in the EU. Agriculture is another major user, with plastic products like mulching films, controlled-release fertilizers, and tree guards being widely used. While these products offer benefits like water conservation, weed control, and increased yields, they also pose risks of soil pollution and environmental contamination. The majority of agricultural plastics are not collected or recycled, leading to improper disposal and landfilling. Other plastic products, such as turf nets and infills, are not biodegradable and difficult to recover for recycling. To address these issues, SOUL aims to develop novel, biodegradable materials with high renewable content. The consortium partners will focus on producing new materials, transforming existing plastic products, and developing sustainable end-of-life solutions. By addressing waste management, reducing carbon footprints, and preventing soil contamination, SOUL seeks to contribute to a more sustainable and circular plastic economy. SOUL will deploy at TRL8, with a circular bioeconomy and multi-actor approach, a complete value chain to produce 11 innovative bio-based and biodegradable in soil product solutions meeting high market demand, by the combination of 3 building blocks and 8 technologies, reaching solutions with a 95% of Renewable Raw Materials while ensuring a platform able to respond to the different application needs.

A sustainable Circular Economy in the wind sector requires to solve the End of Life problematic of the Wind Turbine Blades, prioritizing environmental factors and fairly sharing the efforts to overcome the technologic, economic and social barriers among all the key actors. To this end, EoLO-HUBs will develop 3 open hubs to co-design, co-create and demonstrate new technologies, organizational structures, business models and legal recommendations to implement CE according to the needs of the different European regions. The Knowledge Hub will connect stakeholders to effectively collaborate on similar initiatives, sharing data and spilling over good practices to replicate success stories during and after the project. The other 2 hubs will build a large-scale demonstration covering the full value chain for WTB reusing and recycling from the dismantling to the valorisation in heavy composite sectors through efficient waste recycling solutions, while specific needs of EoL composites in wind technology are representing. The Onshore Hub will include the necessity of implementing a Zero-pollution and mobile system for dismantling onshore technologies without jeopardise the environment and maximising the recovering of paints and coatings as well as enabling the recyclability of chemical building blocks (solvolysis). The Multi-sectorial and Offshore Hub will include the necessity of adapting current high volume composite recycling technologies (pyrolysis) to obtain a high yield of rGF and cGF in a Zero-waste approach collaborating with other sectors as well as to demonstrate how to prepare the gateways for offshore technologies to connect to the new value chain for recycling WTB. In this way, EoLO-HUBs will create a long-term collaboration of key actors with access to relevant demonstration scenarios to ensure the recycling of almost 90% of the WTB materials, creating a circular economy that generates jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emission by 2030.

The TERRIFIC project will demonstrate at TRL 8 bio-based, circular flagship solutions for improved properties packaging applications, fulfilling the superior requirements in terms of performance along their entire supply value chain while improving circularity and resource efficiency. To do so, 6 ambitious specific objectives have been selected: - Implement a first-of-its kind multipurpose biorefinery for the obtaining of biobased building blocks including 1,4-bioBDO, and C18-DCA at TRL 8 and demonstrate its replicability - Successfully Produce of biopolyesters and biomaterials with RRM > 95% and improved properties (barrier and durability) at TRL 8 including 1,4-bioBDO, C18-DCA from the multipurpose biorefinery - Develop biobased, recyclable, compostable and high-performing flagship packaging products by means of traditional industrial technologies - Demonstrate the sustainability, circularity and safety of the biobased materials developed for the flagship packaging products with respect to existing fossil or bio-based benchmarks - Improve circularity and resource efficiency through the validation of multiple end-of-life scenarios for the developed Flagship products - Evaluate and demonstrate the replicability of the TERRIFIC concept through a multi-actor approach to create an interactive innovation model for engagement of all the actors in the value chain in the exploitation of new business opportunities TERRIFIC is a multidisciplinary project engaging 19 partners from 9 countries covering the whole value chain (including 6 SMEs). An implementation plan is presented in the form of 7 work packages, 5 of which are technical in nature. Synergy in communication and dissemination by the several partners and stakeholders (including a multiactor interest group) will maximize the project progress and impact. Solutions to overcome the barriers as well as appropriate deliverables, tasks, milestones, and risks to complete the project objectives in due time are presented.

LIGNOFUN is a groundbreaking initiative founded on the transformative idea to replace fossil-derived aromatic chemicals with sustainable, lignin-based alternatives while addressing environmental challenges like greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion. In the phase one, the project aims to advance two key lignin depolymerization technologies (METNIN and OHRIGINS) to industrially relevant scale (TRL6-7) and valorize low-value underutilized lignin from paper mills into valuable aromatic molecule rich streams. The second phase focuses on validation and TRL progression for each of these depolymerized streams into high-value demonstration prototypes (such as foams, nylon 66, adhesives, coatings, composites, wood panels, cosmetics, personal care products and rubber products), showcasing their potential for superior performance and economic viability. LIGNOFUN will also conduct a thorough impact assessment through process simulations and curated mass balance data, utilizing TEA, S-LCA, ssBD, and LCC analyses to optimize sustainability, economic feasibility, and social impact. The project’s robust consortium of 18 partners (7 SMEs, 1 large company, 9 RTOs, and 1 cluster) unites expertise from both industry and research, ensuring end-user engagement and the industrial adoption of results. By engaging stakeholders across the value chain, LIGNOFUN will foster industry uptake of sustainable, bio-based alternatives. The project will revolutionize lignin utilization and empower EU industries to reduce fossil dependence, driving sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness for a greener future.