September 2026 – INCIRCULAR has reached the end of its three years of cooperation across Spain, Slovenia and France. The project marked its conclusion with a final conference in Ljubljana on 24 September 2026, where partners, SMEs, industry representatives, research organisations and public authorities reviewed the results and discussed the next steps for wider industrial adoption and investment.
Three of the project’s main results are designed to support that next stage. The INCIRCULAR Toolkit explains the industrial pilot and helps organisations assess whether and how its approach could be replicated. The funded projects pages report what six SME-led teams developed, tested and learned, including the maturity of each solution. The Policy Brief translates evidence from the pilot, the SME projects and regional stakeholders into recommendations for public authorities working on standards, procurement, finance, data and industrial support.
From factory residue to a new manufacturing material
Launched in October 2023, INCIRCULAR brought together eight partners from Andalusia in Spain, Vzhodna Slovenija in Slovenia and Rhône-Alpes in France around a practical industrial challenge: how can plastic production residues be recovered, upgraded and returned to manufacturing as reliable raw material?
At the project’s industrial pilot, polypropylene residues from household-appliance manufacturing moved through sorting, shredding and fine grinding. The recovered plastic was combined with post-consumer plant-based fibres and a coupling agent, compounded into reinforced pellets, dried and injection moulded into new components. Material testing and virtual process models supported quality control and helped anticipate manufacturing faults. The resulting scientific publications report the processability and manufacturing feasibility of recycled fibre-reinforced polypropylene at industrial scale.
INCIRCULAR also allocated €360,000 to an open call for six SME-led projects. These projects targeted bottlenecks that affect the quality, cost and continuity of circular-plastics operations: identifying mixed materials, automating sorting, reducing knife wear and making moulding data easier to use.
SME projects tackle the pressure points in plastics recycling
Working with industrial partners, the six SME-led projects addressed specific challenges in plastics recycling and manufacturing, delivering results ranging from validated prototypes to solutions entering industrial use.
- WR Knives. TRO developed two product lines for plastic shredding that are now ready for industrial use. In Omaplast trials with HDPE bottles, its premium powder-metallurgy knives operated for 85–90 hours, compared with 30–36 hours for conventional knives, cutting downtime from knife changes by more than 50%.
- PITS. Plas’tri developed a near-infrared hyperspectral camera system that is ready for deployment on industrial sorting lines, together with identification algorithms tailored to waste streams from household appliances, textiles and bedding, elastomers and household waste. It recorded more than 99% identification accuracy for the targeted plastics under laboratory and pilot conditions. One industrial project was secured and four commercial proposals were in progress.
- SMART-MOLD. Logix field-tested a platform that connects moulding-machine data with work orders, production plans and quality information in a self-service analytics environment. The company is now preparing the platform for commercial licensing and wider deployment, while its data structure can support future machine-learning applications.
- MOIK. Ekstera and Additio produced and validated 50 recycling knives coated with 100% recycled Inconel powder from an internal by-product stream. Laboratory and industrial shredder trials indicated approximately 30% better performance than standard solutions. The next steps are further optimisation, longer-term testing and preparation for wider market introduction.
- CLARA. Rovimática delivered an operational sorting prototype combining computer vision, AI-assisted decision-making and robotic handling, which operators can configure using ordinary language. Validation showed that it could meet industrial throughput requirements on cost-effective computing hardware. Early-adopter pilots and commercialisation are the next steps.
- PLASTNIR. ISR delivered an operational modular sorting prototype designed for retrofit to existing lines. Its lower-cost multispectral option achieved 82.3% total accuracy and its hyperspectral option 92.7%, both including challenging dark plastic samples. Testing under real operating conditions and expansion of the training dataset are the next steps.
The Toolkit connects the pilot with replication
The INCIRCULAR Toolkit follows the work from the industrial pilot to the decisions involved in applying a similar approach elsewhere. Manufacturers and recyclers can examine the process and equipment, assess their readiness and compare technology options. Technology providers and regional organisations can use the toolkit to identify partners, funding routes and relevant production cases.
- Interactive pilot line. A stage-by-stage journey follows material from pre-sorted residues to a finished product. Process videos and downloadable material and equipment sheets cover sorting, shredding, grinding, storage, fibre reinforcement, compounding, extrusion, testing, pellet production, drying, injection moulding and digital simulation.
- Industrial Symbiosis Calculator. A seven-part self-assessment produces a Replication Readiness Score from 0 to 100, covering process fit, feedstock, technology, infrastructure, investment, market potential and environmental contribution, with guidance on what to address next.
- Circular Tech Stack Directory. An open directory presents technologies for advanced recycling, automated sorting, virtual process modelling, material traceability and industrial resource-sharing, with possible integration routes and commercial relevance.
- Interregional Symbiosis Network Hub. A directory of European alliances, clusters, research networks and events points users towards technical partners, standards, business contacts and cross-regional opportunities.
- Funding and Financial Instrument Guide. A route through European programmes, national support in France, Spain and Slovenia, and private investment relevant to circular materials, sorting, traceability and digital manufacturing.
- Deep-Tech Plug-In Library. The six funded projects are presented as potential additions to existing operations, covering longer-life cutting tools, recycled-metal coatings, intelligent plastic identification and manufacturing-data analysis.
- Replication Use Case Explorer. Manufacturing cases show how recycled composite formulations can be assessed on standard production equipment, spanning applications in irrigation, furniture, transport, electronics, household appliances and consumer products.
Policy recommendations for wider uptake
INCIRCULAR’s Policy Brief turns experience from the pilot, SME projects and regional stakeholders into recommendations for public authorities. It is intended for local, regional, national and EU decision-makers seeking to make circular-plastics investment easier, reduce uncertainty for smaller companies and create reliable demand for verified recycled materials.
Policymakers can use the brief to shape measures within their remit: clearer and more consistent standards; public procurement that rewards verified recycled content; grants, guarantees and blended finance for first industrial deployments; open datasets for sorting and future digital product passports; technical training; and regional support for life-cycle assessment. It also proposes actions that regions can start now, including industrial-symbiosis hubs, procurement pilots, better alignment between collection systems and industrial feedstock needs, and stronger support at the design stage of innovation.
The full INCIRCULAR Policy Brief is available to download, together with a one-page factsheet summarising its key recommendations.
Interregional cooperation behind the results
Collaboration across the circular plastics value chain was central to INCIRCULAR’s approach. The project brought together industrial facilities and expertise in recycling and compounding, materials development, injection moulding, digital simulation, research and regional innovation. This combination enabled recycled materials and SME-developed technologies to be tested under industrial conditions. The evidence and lessons generated through this work now underpin practical resources that other companies and regions can use when considering similar approaches.
This work was co-funded by the European Union through the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) Instrument.
More information:
Project website: incircular-project.eu
Project social media: LinkedIn and YouTube
Project contact: communication@incircular-project.eu