Designação do projeto | UpCycle4Biz - Upcycling Materials Towards a Circular Economy

Co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), under the Norte 2020 North Portugal Regional Operational Program, Portugal 2020.

Main goal | Reinforce research, technological development and innovation

Location | North

Consortium | Síntese Binária - Engenharia e Sistemas de Informação, Lda.; F3M - Information Systems, S.A.; CVR – Centro para a Valorização de Resíduos; Estamparia Têxtil - Adalberto Pinto da Silva, S.A.

Approval date | 29-07-2021

Start date | 26-08-2021

End date | 30-06-2023

Total eligible cost | 741.163,74 €

EU financial support | 547.573,04 € (FEDER)

Synthesis

Description and goals

The project UpCycle4Biz aims to develop a digital platform – UpValue, which will act as a Marketplace where companies can trade residues/subproducts originated from several industrial sectors. This platform intends to promote a transition to a circular Economy, with a direct impact on the three pillars of sustainability: Environmental (valorization of residues/subproducts); Economical (towards the reduction of costs related with raw materials) and Social (establishing a path towards industrial synergies, formed through new potential partnerships) sustainability.

The digital platform UpValue presents a business model that is based on both digitalization and circular economy assumptions. On one hand, it will imply the development of a digital database related with residues/by-products from different industrial sectors, thereby enabling and improving the digitalization of the residues sector in Portugal. Regarding the economical perspective, this business model will enhance the transition towards a circular economy, by keeping residues/by-products in the value chain of a company/industrial sector, while using them in a new life cycle by their incorporation in an alternative product or solution. Considering the holistic business approach of the platform, it will be possible to identify opportunities for the incorporation of residues/by-products between different industrial sectors, by performing matchmaking processes related with residues and by-products, and new materials and/or products. This matchmaking approach will result in a database which will support new potential industrial synergies, thus facilitating the contact between the company which is generating residues/by-products, and the company interested in the incorporation of these in its products. Ultimately, and within the scope of the new business model driven by the platform, as well as its effect in the current value chain, a reduction in the environmental impact associated with the current industrial products can be foreseeable. This will be validated by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools.