Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
About
The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is ranked among the leading technical universities in Europe, with a strong focus on research, education, industry collaboration, and public sector consultancy. DTU employs approximately 6,000 staff members, including academic, administrative, and technical personnel, and hosts a vibrant international community. The university has around 13,500 students, including approximately 1,300 PhD students.
DTU Chemical Engineering covers the core disciplines of chemical engineering, including reaction engineering and transport phenomena such as heat and mass transfer and fluid dynamics. The department also engages in research and teaching within areas of high practical relevance, with polymer technology being a key focus. Experimental work is conducted at multiple scales—from microscale and laboratory setups to digital twins, pilot facilities, and industrial applications. The Danish Polymer Centre (DPC), based at DTU Chemical Engineering, aims to develop polymer-based products grounded in polymer chemistry, polymer engineering, and polymer physics. Process and Systems Engineering Center (PROSYS), based at DTU Chemical Engineering focuses on advanced process engineering, biochemical and chemical systems modeling and sustainable process development and optimization.
DTU Sustain is a department at DTU dedicated to advancing sustainability through research, education, and innovation in environmental engineering and resource management. The department has strong expertise in circular economy, waste management, life cycle assessment (LCA), and the environmental impacts of technologies and systems. These topics are explored through both laboratory experiments and modelling approaches. Within the UPCYCLE project, DTU Sustain focuses on all aspects of Safe and Sustainable by Design, including risk assessment and environmental and economic modelling.
Role in Upcycle
DTU has main involvement in three work packages in UPCYCLE.
In WP4 there are two main tasks (i) to synthesize bio-based polymers and functional polymer additives that will control the degradability and properties of widely used polyester types, and (ii) to develop tailored formulations for eco-designed polymer materials for the end-use applications in WP6. The key targets include demonstrating adjustable degradability for the compounds, both in the polymer backbone and additives, by blending these additives into a range of polyesters. These formulations will retain crucial barrier properties, mechanical strength, processability, and in-process stability.
In WP5 the main roles are with regard to establishing a scaled biorefinery concept for the best processes throughout the whole value chain and demonstrate the plastic biorefinery concept from TRL6 to 7. DTU’s main role here is to Process optimization, aided by the use of a Digital Twin that will model the whole system of combined technologies. Furthermore, they will develop a Techno-economic Assessment for the whole system.
Finally, in WP7, they will provide continuous assistance to technical WPs in the project (WP2 to 6) to make sure all project developments are safe, sustainable and meet technical and regulatory requirements. This will be done by conducting the necessary assessments to confirm the safety (ecotoxicity analyses), environmental and socio-economic sustainability (in line with the EC’s SSbD framework) of all innovations. To support this with necessary data on potential exposures, further tasks biodegradability assessment of final products will be included.