The EFFECTIVE kick-off meeting took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 6 and 7 June 2018. This project represents one of the most comprehensive industrial-driven efforts and aims at reshaping the entire product value chain and, hopefully, drive economic growth.
All 12 project partners got a better insight into the project’s activities, objectives and opportunities. In addition, the meeting was a great opportunity for all project partners and stakeholders to meet and interact. Work package leaders were invited to introduce the main goals of the project and to better explain their roles, expectations and responsibilities.
EFFECTIVE’s partners span eight countries and are: renewable feedstock providers, leaders in conversion technologies, producers of intermediate and finished products, major consumer and recycling technologies brands. They are as follows, AquafilSLO (Slovenia) and includes Aquafil S.p.A (Italy), Novamont (Italy), Südzucker (Germany), Carvico (Italy), Vaude (Germany), Balsan (France), H&M Group (Sweden), Bio-Mi (Croatia), CIRCE (Spain), Life Cycle Engineering (Italy) and Circular Change (Slovenia).
One of the key objectives of the EFFECTIVE project is to develop a more sustainable nylon, made from bio-based caprolactam, produced using renewable feedstocks. The nylon is planned to be validated by consumer brands, such as H&M, Carvico, Vaude and Balsan and used in the production of carpet textiles. The recyclability of this nylon will help facilitate the circular economy, as well as move the industry away from oil and gas use. Furthermore, the project will significantly benefit from the partnership with the U.S.-based, biotechnology company, Genomatica, which is the licensor of the GENO CPL TM process. This process is designed to lead to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way to produce caprolactam using plant-based renewable ingredients, rather than the crude oil-derived materials traditionally used by the nylon industry. The aim is to develop a better understanding of which monomers, polymers and sustainability initiatives are commercially available, thus enabling brands to make better arrangements with their suppliers regarding bio-based ingredients and materials.
The initiative is partially financed by a Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking grant, a public-private partnership between the European Union (Horizon 2020 program) and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC). The 7.1 million € budget will allow the consortium to effectively produce more sustainable fibers and plastic films in an economically viable way.
