Project description
Upcycling foam into higher-value products
Polyurethane foams are used widely in large-scale applications – from carpet underlay to vehicle interiors. Rigid forms of the foams are effective insulation materials used in construction: roof and wall insulation, insulated windows, doors and air barrier sealants. Mountains of toxic polyurethane end up in landfill. The EU-funded CIRCULAR FOAM project will reverse this trend. Specifically, it will develop a cross-sectoral systemic solution for the circularity of high-performance plastics from diverse applications. The waste streams will be upcycled chemically and valorised to become new virgin-equivalent feedstock for the chemical industry to produce new high-performance plastics.
Objective
CIRCULAR FOAM aims at the demonstration of a territorial cross-sectorial systemic solution for the circularity of high performance plastics from diverse applications on the example of rigid polyurethane foams used as insulation in refrigerators and in construction. The waste streams will be upcycled chemically, which means that they will be valorised to become new virgin-equivalent feedstock for the chemical industry to produce new high performance plastics. In this way, it will become possible to replace limited fossil-based resources by the renewable waste-based ones, thus not only reducing waste, but also becoming more sustainable and making a step forward to climate neutrality. The project and the demonstration are targeting a concrete implementation of the solution in question in the selected regions after the project and developing a blueprint for both the geographical transferability to other regions and for the technological extension of the circularity principle to a number of further waste materials from further applications. We consider here two carefully selected regions: NRW/Germany, Silesia/PL and Greater Amstedam Region. The consortium is composed of all actors required to close the circular value chain (process industries, manufacturing, waste management, technology providers, incl. also research partners, logistics, social scientists and economist working with with public sector and citizens. After practical implementation and replication in EU of the systemic solution, following reductions will have been attained by 2040: 586.000 tons per year less waste, 18,6 mln. tons less CO2 emission; 118 mln EUR less cost for incineration for the PU producers. The system will signifficantly contribute to resilience in regions.
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Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
51373 Leverkusen
Germany
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Participants (25)
51149 Koln
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
Participation ended
41 503 CHORZOW
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
Participation ended
75031 Eppingen
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8200 Eggersdorf bei Graz
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8070 Bertrange
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
8710 Wielsbeke
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33080 Porcia
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2595 AN Den Haag
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
9747 AA Groningen
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
9712CP Groningen
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52062 Aachen
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44227 Dortmund
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1091 GH Amsterdam
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3526 KV Utrecht
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53-345 WROCLAW
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8092 Zuerich
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80686 Munchen
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44801 Bochum
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52428 Julich
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40 053 Katowice
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40-568 Katowice
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
02 757 Warszawa
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
60486 Frankfurt
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Kingscourt
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41 503 CHORZOW
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