Unique patented technology for recycling mixed plastic waste and other hard-to-recycle waste streams to REMATerialize them to valuable products

Project Information

REMAT

Grant agreement ID: 947230

DOI

10.3030/947230

Project closed

EC signature date 24 May 2020

Start date 1 March 2020

End date 31 March 2022

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 3 358 281,25

EU contribution

€ 2 350 796,88

Coordinated by

WIMAO OY
Finland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - REMAT (Unique patented technology for recycling mixed plastic waste and other hard-to-recycle waste streams to REMATerialize them to valuable products)

Reporting period: 2021-03-01 to 2022-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

"WIMAO is flipping the “take, make and dispose of” model on its head with REMAT; a breakthrough process to repurpose 230 millions of tons of plastic waste that are being sent to landfills and incinerators every year. Furthermore, countries where we have previously been exporting the majority our waste have put a ban on the import of foreign waste which means billions of tons of waste have nowhere to go and threaten EU’s ambitious targets to recycle up to 75% of waste by 2023.
Wimao’s recycling technology gives second life to these plastic waste streams in the form of new composite products that have the same properties as the billions of cubic meters of products manufactured every year from virgin raw materials. WIMAO is uniquely positioned to create a new standard operating mode for the recycling industry because we have the technology versatile enough to handle the volumes of waste that Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) collect, exactly as they receive it, without the need to separate waste streams, effectively surmounting the key barrier for recycling. Our technology is a radically new opportunity to push Europe towards its circular economy.
We have set up a pilot REMAT facility that started production in January 2019. We are turning mixed plastic waste that is not wanted by the plastic recycling industry and wood waste into, composite products. Now we are developing the next generation of our technology to
Consistently process new types of challenging plastic waste streams and in greater quantities
Manufacture larger and more complex composite products to open up new user segments
Create automated process controls to accommodate fluctuations in waste materials
Set the stage for licensing our technology

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the Remat project we redesigned our next generation REMAT technology. Development work for automatic adjusting system of our technology was designed, installed and tested. In the next next generation remat line it is possible to consistently process new types of challenging plastic waste; mixed plastics from municipal collection, multilayer plastics, low density plastics. From these challangeng plastics we are able to produce first prototypes of our new bigger composite products. In parallel with recycling line development we developed euro size pallet prototype for new user segments. In parallel, with these technical activities we have been carrying out pre-commercial, certification and IP activities, which have prepared us to achieve and to be ready for commercialisation of REMAT technology consept. We are going to further develop Remat rematerialization consept and commerzialize and further promote the technology developed in the project.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

At the end of the project, REMAT technology is in the commercialization phase and first customer deliveries can begin. By the end of the project we anticipate that Wimao will be positioned as a leader in solving the global plastic waste challenge by utilizing hard-to-recycle and currently non-recyclable plastic waste as a raw material for new products. Our technology will be ending hundreds of thousands of tons of virgin materials mined, waste landfilled, carbon dioxide emitted and optimizing millions of euros in new investments and creating hundreds of new jobs in the process.

Test samples

Raw materials

Wimao Ecological Pallet -test samples