What’s currently happening within INCREACE?
In the technical work packages there is a lot going on, first batches of specific materials are send for compounding and eagerly awaited for prototyping. For most of our business cases we are talking about pilot amounts of 10 to 25 kg of material. These will allow to produce enough samples for further testing.
But have you ever thought how far you would get with 25 kg in order to produce ESD pallets? One of the current challenges is to also match the capacities of the partners research labs with the needs for reliable testing with such big amounts.
Now that the first tests for the business cases are on their way, we also investigate further the potentials of combining the recycling technologies represented within the consortium. As INCREACE aims to increase the recycling rates, making use of the so called “drop fractions” that are currently not recycled is one of the promising ways to make best use of the advantages of the different technologies.
Systemic oriented work packages
But the systemic oriented work packages aren’t slowing down either. Work package 5 is running a series of projects together with graduates from design universities and the business cases. The overarching questions they explore: “how can we design valuable and effective collection experiences” or simply said: don’t only design for a good buy, but also for the good bye. The projects are supposed to finish this spring.
Looking at the even bigger picture WP 6 and 7 investigate on how to reconfigure the EEE value chain in order to make recyclates competitive and available on the large scale.
Dealing with the question of how to predict and plan the amounts and qualities of plastics that will be available in end-of-life products from different streams, WP7 is about to finish the operationalization of the CE framework for PP and eager to expand it on further types. WP 6 who is combining the findings into a techno-economic assessment to identify cost-competitive pathways for replacing recycled with virgin plastics in EEE is ready to lead first discussions on their model with the stakeholders.
The reorganization of the recycling system can’t be considered without the political landscape however. And while we are talking about material mixes and waste stream mixes, there is a paper in the pipeline that analyses the Policy Mixes for the Circular Economy Transition.
So stay tuned!
Related news
INCREACE Crash Course series: Learning from the Business Cases
In this crash course, we will dive into the key learnings from our business cases. We like to call these the heart of the INCREACE project.Crash Course 30 October 2025 Each business case explores a different polymer used in electronic applications, including...
INCREACE Crash Course series: High Quality WEEE Recycling
How can we turn complex plastic fractions from WEEE into valuable resources for the circular economy?Crash Course 23 October 2025 In this crash course, we dive into the innovative recycling technologies we use in INCREACE: 🔹 Mechanical recycling 🔹 Chemical recycling 🔹...
INCREACE Crash Course series: Environmental and Costing Assessment
In this INCREACE Crash Course we dive into the environmental and economic aspects of recycling innovations.Crash Course 16 October 2025 The session features three insightful parts: 🔹Fraunhofer – presenting results on the environmental assessment of different recycling...
INCREACE Crash Course series: WEEE Plastics Sourcing
How can we source and use more recycled plastics in electronics?Crash Course 2 October 2025 At the heart of INCREACE are five business cases, each tackling different challenges in plastics sourcing, sorting, and recycling. Over the past three years, our partners have...
INCREACE Crash Course series: Regulation & Policy
How do regulation and policy shape the circular economy for plastics and electronics?Crash Course 25 September 2025 In this session, we explore:🔹 Key barriers impacting circularity🔹Drivers enabling sustainable recycling pathways🔹 A deep dive into medical devices (in...
INCREACE Crash Course series: Circular Product Design
Did you know designers play a key role in making products truly circular?In this webinar, we will explore two crucial intervention points in a product’s lifecycle.Crash Course 18 September 2025 These two crucial intervention points ina product's lifecycle are: 🔹...
INCREACE Crash Course series: Introduction
The transition to a circular economy for plastics in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is gaining momentum. Last week, we lauched the INCREACE Crash Course Series where professionals, researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders now have a...
We attended E-Waste World Conference
At the E-Waste World Conference in Frankfurt, David Pfeffer (ETH Zürich) and Theresa Aigner (Fraunhofer IZM) had the opportunity to share preliminary findings from our ongoing Life Cycle Costing and Life Cycle Assessment of various e-waste recycling technologies. Our...
INCREACE produced the first demonstrator with recycled materials
Milestone achieved! Our consortium partner Cabka has just unveiled the very first prototype pallets with electrostatic discharge (ESD) properties produced from recycled polypropylene (PP)! Key takeaways from the prototype - Impressive Resistivity: Recycled PP...
6th General Assembley at Neste’s headquarters
We recently held a very successful 6th General Assembly at Neste's headquarters! As we enter the final third of the project, we are proud to reflect on the progress made and the collaborative spirit that drives us forward. Key Takeaways Over three days, partners...
Get in touch
For more info about the INCREACE project, please feel free to get in touch with us.
Projectcoordinators
Theresa Marie Aigner & Ronja Scholz
Address
Fraunhofer Institute for for Reliability and Microintegration IZM
Gustav-Meyer-Allee 25
13355 Berlin, Germany
Email address
info@increace-project.com