The UPCYCLE Plastics project has officially started its journey. On 8–9 October 2025, the consortium gathered at the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP) in Ghent, Belgium, to mark the launch of this ambitious four-year Horizon Europe initiative. The two-day Kick-Off Meeting brought together partners from academia, industry, and innovation centres to align on the project’s mission, objectives, and first milestones.
Building on the scientific and technological achievements of the H2020 UPLIFT project, UPCYCLE aims to reshape how Europe manages its most challenging plastic waste streams. The project’s central ambition is to turn today’s non-recyclable plastics into the next generation of highly recyclable and/or biodegradable packaging materials.
UPCYCLE will demonstrate its full plastic biorefinery and ecopolymers strategy at TRL7, integrating:
- Scalable depolymerisation technologies
- Fermentation using plastic hydrolysates and renewable feedstock
- Smart polymerisation and formulation strategies
- AI-powered innovation tools
- Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) principles applied across the entire value chain
This integrated approach will accelerate Europe’s transition toward circular, low-impact plastics that meet both environmental and industrial performance requirements.
During the meeting, each partner presented the scope of their Work Package, clarifying technical responsibilities, synergies, and timelines for the first year of implementation. The UPCYCLE structure includes:
- WP1 – Business Case → AEIMIS
- WP2 – Scalable Depolymerisation of Plastic Waste → Aalborg University (AAU)
- WP3 – Fermentation of Plastic Hydrolysates & Renewable Feedstock → Bioplastech (BPL)
- WP4 – Eco-Design of Biodegradable & Recyclable Ecopolymers → Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
- WP5 – Plastic Biorefinery Process Demonstration → Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP)
- WP6 – Demonstration of Biodegradable Packaging Production → BIO-MI
- WP7 – SSbD, Biodegradability & Compostability Assessments → AIMPLAS
- WP8 – Dissemination, Communication & Exploitation → ECO Imagination
- WP9 – Project Management → Aalborg University (AAU)
One of the highlights of the Kick-Off Meeting was a guided visit to the BBEPP pilot facilities, where UPCYCLE will scale and demonstrate its innovative biorefinery processes. Partners had the opportunity to see firsthand the equipment and infrastructure that will support the project’s depolymerisation, fermentation, and ecopolymer production activities.
The Kick-Off Meeting laid a solid foundation for the work ahead, combining scientific expertise, industrial know-how, and a shared vision for a circular plastics future. With a motivated consortium and a clear roadmap, UPCYCLE is now fully launched and ready to drive innovation in sustainable materials across Europe.