Caracol joins 30 partners for the European DeremCo project

30 european partners from italy, finland, austria, spain, slovenia, belgium, and portugal collaborate within the eu-funded deremco project, started in december 2022. Partners are on a mission to create a systemic, cross-sectoral, and demand-driven circular economy solution that will enable the cost-effective reuse of post-use composite materials and components in new high-added value products.

About

Fiber-reinforced plastics are the structural components of a wide range of consumer and industrial goods, but managing composite products after use in accordance with the principles of the circular economy remains a significant challenge.

The DeremCo project aims to create a systemic, cross-sectoral, demand-driven circular economy solution that will enable the cost-effective reuse of post-use composite materials and components in new high-added value products. This solution will be based on the interaction between the technical and social eco-systems at the local and interregional level and will benefit the environment, industry, consumers, and the European society.

To satisfy consumer demands, two circular pilot procedures will be used:

• mechanical demanufacturing and hybrid reprocessing,
• thermo-chemical demanufacturing and textile reprocessing.

The circular value chain will be changed into a “pull” system, in line with the new DeremCo Demand-Driven vision, where the demands and specifications on the materials and components to be reused are transferred directly from the demand side in terms of the qualities and functions of the high added-value products reusing them. The major objectives will be to encourage industrial uptake within local eco-systems, to de-risk future industrial uptake through private investments, and to raise awareness for more conscientious consumer behavior to assure sustainability and continuity.

Main Caracol joins 30 partners for the European DeremCo project

Caracol’s role

Caracol is partner of the DeremCo project as a use case leader. The demo case is on the industrial exploitation of fibers obtained from reprocessed end-of-life wind blades that can be used in combination with recycled polymer matrices to produce FRP-based tools for the manufacturing industry and other goods.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s ERDF under grant agreement No 101084037. 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 Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

• Project Name: De & Remanufacturing for Circular Economy Investments in the Composite Industry
• Start/end: December 2022 – November 2025
• Total Cost: 12 603 930.83
• EU contribution: 8 822 751.58
• Call: I3-2021-INV1
• Topic: I3-2021-INV1-MANU