C-PORT: Request for Industrial Partners to join the Industrial Advisory Board

Project description

Introduction

Each year, approximately 12 million vehicles reach end-of-life in Europe, yet only about two-thirds are processed through authorized recycling facilities. From dismantled vehicles, a wide range of waste streams is generated, of which 12–15% by mass (and up to 50% by volume) consists of plastics such as PP, PU, PA, PVC, ABS, and PC. Apart from limited recycling of specific fractions (e.g. floating PP and PS), a large fraction of plastics are currently downcycled or not recycled at all due to technological and market limitations. 

A similar challenge exists in the leisure marine sector, which relies heavily on polymer-based materials such as polyesters and epoxy composites. Many small recreational vessels, particularly those produced in large numbers during the 1970s–1990s, are now reaching end-of-life. Recycling solutions for these materials remain underdeveloped, and additional challenges arise from ownership, abandonment and collection logistics. While large commercial vessels fall under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, small leisure craft are currently not subject to strict regulatory frameworks, although awareness and voluntary initiatives are emerging.

As a result, only a limited fraction of plastics from the transport sector is effectively recycled today. Improving valorisation of these waste streams is both an environmental and economic priority for Flanders, given the significant volumes of end-of-life vehicles and vessels handled in the region. This required transition is further driven by European policy. The revised End-of-Life Vehicles Directive introduces targets for recycled plastic content in vehicles (25% by 2036, of which 20% must originate from ELVs). In parallel, broader EU initiatives such as the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Green Deal increase pressure to reduce reliance on virgin fossil resources and improve material circularity across sectors. However, the complexity and heterogeneity of these waste streams, combined with stringent quality requirements for secondary materials (e.g. mechanical properties, color and odor), remain major barriers to effective recycling.

Goals

C-PORT aims to address key technological challenges in the recycling of plastics and composites originating from end-of-life vehicles and leisure marine applications. The project focuses on enabling the conversion of complex and heterogeneous plastic waste streams into high-quality recycled materials that meet the stringent requirements needed for closed loop recycling and using the recycled products again in the automotive/vessel producing sectors. In addition, it seeks to unlock the potential of mixed or contaminated plastic fractions by converting them into recycled carbon fuels.

To achieve this, the project will design and assess cascade processing routes that combine mechanical, physical and chemical recycling technologies. These integrated approaches will be tailored to the specific characteristics of transport-related waste streams, with the objective of maximizing material recovery, improving purity and retaining material value. Ultimately, C-PORT aims to deliver flexible and scalable recycling solutions that can adapt to the variability of real-world waste streams and contribute to a more circular use of plastics in the transport sector.

The project will start by quantifying plastic stocks and waste flows from end-of-life vehicles and leisure vessels in Flanders and neighbouring regions. This includes mapping the origins and volumes of waste streams, as well as analysing their material composition at both polymer and elemental level, linking this as well to industrial optical sorting equipment. Existing collection, dismantling, and processing routes will also be evaluated to identify key inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement. Building on this foundation, the project will start from mechanical and physical recycling approaches and will generate understanding of behaviour of separate plastic materials and integrated components (including their additives) used in vehicles/leisure vessels in different solvent systems. Furthermore, process intensification strategies will be investigated, including advanced dissolution-precipitation reactor designs to increase efficiency and enable continuous operation. Such physical recycling techniques are  complemented by advanced thermochemical conversion routes, with specific attention to hydrothermal liquefaction in supercritical water. This technology offers the potential to convert plastic waste, including thermosets, into hydrocarbon oils, which can be further refined into circular naphtha or upgraded into fuels, including recycled carbon fuels. Through this integrated and multi-technology approach, the project aims to establish robust and scalable pathways for the valorisation of plastic waste streams that are currently difficult to recycle. 

Request

To foster interaction with the industry, the project partners are looking for companies that wish to be involved in this cluster strategic basis research (icSBO) project as part of an Advisory Board.

More specifically, the project partners are searching for companies with expertise/interest in:

• plastic recycling (mechanical, solvent-based, chemical, and thermochemical)
• waste logistics
• use of recycled content in diverse applications
• use of recycled carbon fuels
• dismantling of vehicles/boats
• polymer producers
• ship owners
• vehicle(parts) manufacturers
• etc.

The primary role of companies during the pre-project phase is to tailor the project proposal to the actual needs of the companies and thereby maximize the likelihood of future utilization of the results. During the project execution, a two-way dialogue between the researchers and the user field involved remains essential to achieve the targeted knowledge transfer from scientific research to concrete applications.

The primary role of companies during the implementation phase is: 

• Align research with industrial needs, ensuring applicability, scalability, and market relevance;
• Validate solutions, enabling their translation into economically viable applications;
• Provide expertise, infrastructure, and use cases to accelerate deployment;
• Support concrete valorisation pathways, including pilots, business models, and market uptake.

During the cSBO project execution, companies may contribute as member of the Advisory Board. In addition, they may prefer to undertake parallel R&D activities (bilateral collaboration with (one of the) research groups, O&O-project, etc.) that are related to the subject of the SBO project at their own expense. In the latter option, the parallel R&D activities are not part of the SBO project. Companies may explore the possibility to obtain funding from the Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The Advisory Board is open to all interested companies, including companies established outside the Flemish region.

Important notice: Companies that wish to be involved in this icSBO project, will need to be member of at least one of the involved spearhead clusters (Catalisti, De Blauwe Cluster or VIL). For more information on membership and membership fees, please contact Bert Boekaerts (bboekaertscatalisti.be (bboekaerts[at]catalisti[dot]be)) and Martijn Roosen (mroosencatalisti.be (mroosen[at]catalisti[dot]be)). In compliance with SBO regulations, the following requirements apply during the project implementation:

• All commercial members of the advisory committee are required to make a monetary contribution of minimum € 250/year in the case of an SME or minimum € 1,000/year in the case of a large enterprise or another organization.

• A commitment to a substantive contribution in terms of content and a time investment to participate in bilateral consultations with the project executors and/or meetings of the advisory committee.

How to reply to this request

Please send an email before 15/06 to Bert Boekaerts (bboekaertscatalisti.be (bboekaerts@catalisti.be)) and Martijn Roosen (mroosencatalisti.be (mroosen[at]catalisti[dot]be)) and briefly describe your interest and potential contribution to the project. You will then be contacted for more information on the project contents, and a Letter of Intent (mandatory) and Questionnaire (optional) will be provided to join the Advisory Board of the project. Feel free to contact us for any further questions you might have related to this request.