Consortium

NTNU

NTNU is the largest university of Norway, established in 1767, with an international focus, having headquarters in Trondheim and campuses in Ålesund and Gjøvik, Norway. NTNU holds also an office in Brussels (NTNU Brussels Office). NTNU has a main profile in science and technology, a variety of programmes of professional study, and great academic breadth that also includes the humanities, social sciences, economics, medicine, health sciences, educational science, architecture, entrepreneurship, art disciplines and artistic activities. NTNU has eight faculties, the University Museum and University Library, and currently over 9000 full-time equivalent employees.

The role of NTNU in CIRCULess

NTNU is the coordinator of CIRCULess project, led by ASEMlab – Laboratory of Advanced & Sustainable Engineering Materials, and also represented by the Group of digitalization for sustainable built environment, both at the Department of Manufacturing & Civil Engineering, of NTNU campus Gjøvik. Within CIRCULess project, apart from the management and coordination of the action, NTNU has several technical roles such as in the development of CIRCULess digital platform for waste management, waste sorting and quality control, waste processing, development of new secondary products using CIRCULess recyclates, and others.

AIMEN

AIMEN Technology Centre, with more than 56 years of history, is currently a national and European benchmark in research, development and technological innovation in the areas of advanced manufacturing and laser manufacturing, digital technologies for manufacturing, smart materials, smart systems and recycling; as well as in the provision of differentiating technological services to the industry in the areas of manufacturing with advanced joining technologies, robotics and process digitization, a flexible cross-engineering service highly specialised in welding, corrosion, equipment calculation, product simulation and material tests. AIMEN develops these R&D&I activities and provides these technological services for sectors such as mobility, construction, aerospace, energy and chemist, among others. Nowadays AIMEN manages 78 EU R&D projects, including 20 as coordinator.

The role of AIMEN in CIRCULess

AIMEN’s role in CIRCULess: involvement in the digital inspection for quality control of the construction and mineral waste; development of geopolymers as a secondary product of the mineral waste, including Lab-scale prototypes; and formulation of pellets by using timber derived sub-products such as wood-fibre for Additive Manufacturing of Wood-thermoplastic furniture prototypes.

HOLCIM

Holcim is a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, with net sales of CHF 27.0 billion in 2023 and a workforce of over 63,000 employees. Driven by a mission to build progress for people and the planet, Holcim partners with customers across its regions to offer a broad range of advanced products. These include sustainable building materials such as ECOPact concrete and ECOPlanet cement, circular technology like ECOCycle®, and Elevate’s advanced roofing and insulation systems.

As a pioneer in climate action, circularity, and nature within the construction sector, Holcim is committed to decarbonizing building across the value chain. In response to global megatrends like population growth, urbanization, and the need for improved living standards, Holcim plays a crucial role in shaping a net-zero future. With its “Strategy 2025 – Accelerating Green Growth,” the company integrates sustainability into every aspect of its operations, from its products and construction methods to the complete lifecycle of buildings, promoting circular construction practices.

The role of HOLCIM in CIRCULess

HOLCIM will lead the pivotal demonstration activities thanks to its deep expertise in the production of mineral based secondary materials. The solutions will focus on demonstrating the capability of CIRCULess solutions in fully extracting the best value through upcyling from construction and demolition waste (understood as maximizing volumes and upcycling potential).”

OMTRE

Omtre is an essential part of the circular wood industry, offering sustainable solutions that redefine timber construction practices. We specialize in transforming reclaimed wood from various waste streams into new building products. Our multidisciplinary team brings together expertise in building technology, wood processing, architecture, digital fabrication, and environmental engineering, ensuring a holistic approach to sustainable development.

Beyond product creation, Omtre actively collaborates in various European research projects and contributes to setting new standards for reusing wood in construction. Omtre combines new digital technologies with a deep understanding of timber and building processes to develop innovative methods for using reclaimed wood in construction.

The role of OMTRE in CIRCULess

Omtre contributes expertise in automation, digital modelling, and timber manufacturing to the CIRCULess project. We will trial sorting and processing solutions for timber construction waste, evaluate different timber quality assessment methods, and prototype new architectural timber products and demonstrators.

FORESTIA

Forestia is Norway’s largest manufacturer of chipboard, supplying products to the Scandinavian and Northern European markets. Forestia is owned by Byggma ASA, which is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The factory has approx. 200 employees and a production capacity of approx. 300,000 m3 of chipboard/year. We produce chipboard for many different purposes, for construction, interiors and the furniture industry. We consciously focus on live product development, innovation and LEAN in all our processes to ensure we are competitive and the obvious first choice for customers who demand quality at all stages. Our business is based on renewable forest materials to create durable products while growing new forests in the harvested areas as a way of contributing to increasing carbon sequestration in products.

The role of FORESTIA in CIRCULess

Forestia is looking at the possibility of using recycled wood in addition to virgin wood in our production process. We see the opportunity to be part of the project as a door opener to gain access to expertise, resources to carry out the project, and gain valuable experience in the conversion to a more recyclable value chain.

GJOVIK KOMMUNE

Gjøvik municipality is located in Innlandet county on the banks of Mjøsa. We are a modern, growing small town with over 31,000 inhabitants. The population is 31,007 (1st quarter 2024). 2/3 of the inhabitants live in Gjøvik town, while the rest live in the municipal districts of Biri, Snertingdal and Vardal.

NTUA

The Research Unit of Advanced Composite, Nano Materials & Nanotechnology (R-NanoLab) is based at the School of Chemical Engineering, within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). Established in 2006, R-NanoLab boasts a highly experienced research team specializing in the design, production, and characterization of advanced composite and nanomaterials.

Key activities at R-NanoLab involve a diverse array of technologies focused on the synthesis, treatment, and processing of polymers and composites. In the area of thermoplastic processing, the lab demonstrates expertise in several areas: compounding for recycling and upcycling processes that transform waste materials into valuable resources, integrating various fillers to enhance the performance and properties of thermoplastic composites, and producing high-quality filaments specifically designed for 3D printing applications, catering to both industrial and research needs.

The role of NTUA in CIRCULess

As part of the CIRCULess project, NTUA is focusing on the development of composite materials that integrate timber-based waste fillers with thermoplastics, aimed at applications in additive manufacturing, injection moulding, and extrusion. These composites will highlight wood-plastic products for construction, utilizing recycled and bio-based polymers for building applications. Additionally, NTUA will create educational resources on recycling practices and organize a summer school on its campus.

DTU

Founded in 1829 with the mission of creating value for the benefit of society, DTU is an international elite technical university where education, scientific advice, and innovation rest on a solid foundation of world class research. The University is at the academic and multidisciplinary forefront of the technical and the natural sciences – with new initiatives in a number of demanding engineering disciplines. At the Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering (DTU Sustain) we are at the forefront of Circular Construction Materials, not only introducing new circular solutions for carbon-intensive construction materials, but also quantifying the circular gains in terms of climate mitigation and resources.

The role of DTU in CIRCULess

In CIRCULess, we will support the decision-making process to select the most desirable materials/products based on the input received during the project activities delegation and the market needs. New economic and environmental solutions along the materials value chains will be assessed. A set of criteria to assess the performance of the newly-designed and fabricated circular products will be recommended.

LTU

The Robotics and AI research group at Luleå University of Technology is leading the green transition with sustainability at the heart of our research efforts. We are pioneering the integration of circular value chains into the digital era, leveraging our expertise to streamline operations while enhancing safety, environmental responsibility, and efficiency.

Specializing in robotics, automation, digitalization, and AI, we have made significant strides in revolutionizing workplace safety by enabling robots to autonomously handle hazardous tasks. One of our standout projects is the transformation of Zaragoza, Spain, into a fully climate-neutral city by 2040. This initiative focuses on converting cities into hubs of circularity, implementing zero-waste strategies, among regional stakeholders.

For over 20 years, Luleå University of Technology has delivered cutting-edge research, development, and innovation in image analysis for various industries. As part of CIRCULess, we will apply this expertise to contribute with advanced AI techniques for robust and reliable classification of materials.

The role of LTU in CIRCULess

In CIRCULess, we are specifically focused on perception, material detection, and classification for sorting, and also leading WP1. Beyond scientific and technical contributions, we will actively engage in defining technical specifications, sensor integration, and the exploitation, communication, and dissemination of project results.

UNE

The Spanish Association for Standardization, UNE, is legally designated as the National Standardization Body of Spain. It is the national representative and member of the European (CEN and CENELEC), International (ISO and IEC) and Pan-American (COPANT) Standards Organizations, and member of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

More than 33.000 standards in catalogue, 200 technical committees and 15000 participating experts are a sample of the experience gained as national standards body during almost 40 years. Formally, it is a non-profit-making, private, independent and multisectoral organisation, recognised at National, European and International levels. Through the development of technical standards helps improving the quality, competitiveness and innovation of companies, products and services.

UNE has a large experience in supporting research and innovation communities when taking advantage of standards and standardization to increase the impact of their activities, approaching their results to the industry, society and market environments.

The role of UNE in CIRCULess

The main role will be managing all the activities related to standardization, in two aspects. First, to help the consortium in finding the right standards to be used. And then, to move some of the project results into new standards, to increase their impact and transfer the new knowledge to the industry and the society in Europe and beyond. UNE has a large experience in European innovation projects during many years, developing best practices that will be applied in CIRCULess.

IRES

Innovation Research and Engineering Solutions (IRES), founded in 2015, provides advanced decision-making tools and methodologies for environmental safety and risk assessment, materials characterization and digitization, and process optimization. Our multidisciplinary team of chemical engineers, physicists, materials scientists, and data scientists is committed to delivering world-class, innovative solutions tailored to our clients’ needs. IRES specializes in identifying potential business risks and offering sustainable directions through customized tools that consider the entire lifecycle of products, assessing social, environmental, and economic impacts in accordance with EU standards and regulations. Our expertise extends to cutting-edge technologies such as Nearly Zero Emission Buildings (NZEBs), renewable energy systems, additive manufacturing, and water pollution and wastewater recycling. Our holistic approach to risk assessment includes airborne hazard emission measurements and indoor air quality (IAQ) assessments supported by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations.

The role of IRES in CIRCULess

In CIRCULess, IRES is in charge of monitoring the risk and safety in the developed materials and technologies and will also perform a failure mode and effect analysis of the safety aspects. The outcomes of this study will allow to identify Safe-by-Design (SbD) application in innovative circular solutions

GCS

Global Consulting Sustainability (GCS) AS, is a consulting SME located in Norway and specialised in environmental diagnostic and sustainability applications. GCS provides the required support to clients (i.e., industries, non government organizations (NGOs), civil societies, governments and governmental agencies, and international bodies) and a complete assistance to help them integrate sustainability dimensions into their (business) strategies and their workflows. Our business is based on renewable forest materials to create durable products while growing new forests in the harvested areas as a way of contributing to increasing carbon sequestration in products.

The role of GCS in CIRCULess

GCS is leading the Dissemination and Communication activities of the project. GCS is also having a primary role in organisation of outreaching events, development of project visual identity and fostering synergies with existing projects or initiatives.

TU/e

Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is a young university, founded in 1956 by industry, local government and academia. The University offers academic education that is driven by fundamental and applied research. Our campus is in the centre of one of the most powerful technology hubs in the world: Brainport Eindhoven. Globally, we stand out when it comes to collaborating with advanced industries. Together with other institutions, we form a thriving ecosystem with one common aim – to improve quality of life through sustainable innovations.

The Building Materials (BM) research group, within the Department of the Built Environment is led by Prof. Dr. Ir. H.J.H. (Jos) Brouwers. The BM research group focuses on the study of sustainable construction materials and cementitious by-products, including end-of-life concrete, industrial wastes, and bio-based materials.

The role of TU/e in CIRCULess

• Development of novel activation methods to enhance the properties of recycled concrete.
• Create a research loop between concrete recycling technology, reactivity methodology and reutilization.

TECNALIA

TECNALIA is the largest center of applied research and technological development in Spain, a benchmark in Europe and a member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance. We collaborate with companies and institutions to improve their competitiveness, people’s quality of life and achieve sustainable growth. We do it thanks to people who are passionate about technology and committed to building a better society.

• Our Mission: To transform technological research into prosperity.
• Our Vision: To be agents of transformation of companies and society for their adaptation to the challenges of a changing future.
• Our Values: we are a team of people who behave honestly, transparently, and coherently, in line with our Organisation’s values set out below, creating an environment of trust both inside and outside of TECNALIA: client focus, collaboration, social commitment, excellence and innovation.

The role of Tecnalia in CIRCULess

• The in-line quality control of finer mineral fractions from C&DW by using highly localized spectral sensors and advanced data analysis techniques.
• Developing advanced separation solutions employing a robotic arm with a ‘pick & place’ approach and fine sorting using a vacuum suction system, all aimed at enhancing the circularity of mineral fractions.

VOLBAS

VOLBAS SAU, is a company, located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, that treats construction and demolition waste. VOLB processes about 12.500 tons of waste per month of which 8.300 tons are mixed waste, consisting of stone, rubble, plastics, wood, plaster, VOLB also treats over 4.200 tons per month of clean concrete or asphalt, receives about 350 tons of wood waste per month for treatment from construction activities, both demolitions and new housing. For the treatment of this waste, VOLBAS uses five air separators, one water separator, three magnetic separators and manual separation cabin. The clean stone waste is crushed for sale.

The role of VOLBAS in CIRCULess

Our role in CIRCULess is help understand the real situation of current construction waste circularity practices, to develop new ones and the verification in industrial environments, of the resulting proposals.

UTH

The University of Thessaly (UTH) was founded in 1984. Administratively based in Volos, UTH is organized in 8 Schools, 37 Departments and 71 Post-graduate Study Programs. The Department of Forestry, Wood Sciences, and Design of UTH has set a broad research goal to further promote the scientifically substantiated contribution of forests to climate neutrality and resilience, biodiversity, and sustainable development, as well as to link the research conducted within the department to the real economy and society. This connection is reflected in the numerous research projects implemented or ongoing, the published research work, the international distinctions and excellence of the department’s research staff and the state-of-the-art laboratory equipment. The department also houses the “Institute of Wood, Furniture, and Wooden Packaging”, which has participated in 126 research projects, funded by European or Greek resources, as well as through direct funding from private companies. Many of these projects aimed at the development of innovative bio-based composite wood products.

The role of UTH in CIRCULess

UTH’s role in CIRCULess concerns the quality control of incoming CDMW, using both conventional methods (optical scanning) and advanced scalable quality control tools. We will separate medium/high quality CDW waste from very low quality to explore the development of chipboard, MDF panels, thermal and sound insulation panels, etc. UTH will also consider the processing of sawdust for high energy efficiency products such as pellets or briquettes combining wood waste & agro-waste mixtures.

BAVENIR

BAVENIR is an SME, based in Bratislava (Slovakia), offering digital solutions for data and service interoperability such as the AURORAL platform (https://auroral.bavenir.eu/), that reflects BVR experience, gained in 4 closely related H2020/HE projects: AURORAL, SPADE, VICINITY and SHAR-Q.

The role of BAVENIR in CIRCULess

BAVENIR’s key contribution to CIRCULess will be in the development of a digital platform, supporting the upcycling process.

TheGreenTech

Coming soon

Zerofect

Zerofect is a company that focuses on developing sustainable solutions, giving directions and providing strategic decisions, in order to increase the sustainability and performance of manufacturing and industrial systems. Zerofect services and products revolve around the following areas: Quality management, control and assurance, implementation of Zero Defect Manufacturing; Circularity (product reuse, repurpose, Digital Product passport). Our AeonTrace platform is capable on creating and supporting the Digital Product Passport for any supply chain and individual organisations; Digital solutions (predictive maintenance, digital twins etc.); Production and supply networks Scheduling; Decision making

Our goal is to provide our clients with state of the art solutions, to increase their competence and sustainability of their companies. In Zerofect we believe that sharing knowledge and educating employees and students is our duty, in order to assist the Industry to move towards global sustainability and zero waste.

The role of Zerofect in CIRCULess

Zerofect has a crucial and multiple role in CIRCULess project. Zerofect is responsible for the creation of the digital product passport (DPP) for the manufactured products and wastes. Also ZErofect will develop a dynamic scheduling tool for the supply chain coordination and the implementation of Zero Defect Manufacturing at the different stages of the construction.

University of Hertfordshire

Defined by the spirit of innovation and enterprise, the University of Hertfordshire has been an innovative, educational force for more than 70 years. The university has a thriving community of more than 36,000 students from over 140 countries, that means high-quality teaching from experts engaged in groundbreaking research with real-world impact. Herts is the only university to be awarded a King’s Award for Enterprise in 2024, recognition for how it has grown its international community, and an extensive overseas partner network delivering the University’s education. According to the Research Excellence Framework (REF), the University of Hertfordshire is now in the top 25% of all UK universities in terms of research impact. Herts research is supported by university investment in state-of-the-art research facilities – including the University’s new multimillion facility for the School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science.

The role of UHERTS in CIRCULess

The UHERTS team has considerable experience in processing mineral wastes combining mechanochemistry and microstructural characterisation techniques. This expertise will be used in CIRCULESS in the relevant work packages where processing and evaluation of upcycling of fine graded mineral particles is needed. UHERT also leads T4.2 in WP4.