The EFFECTIVE project intends to demonstrate first of its kind and economically viable routes for the production of biobased polyamides and polyesters from sustainable renewable feedstock for the obtaining of fibres and films with enhanced properties, market competitiveness and increased sustainability. Such materials will be applied into eco-designed large consumer products targeting different markets, i.e. construction, automotive, primary and secondary packaging and textile and with the potential of being applied into many other markets (fishing, engineering plastics, agriculture, hygiene and personal care). Following a circular economy approach, the sustainability of the value chains will be further enhanced by the demonstration of an improved end-of-life of the developed eco-designed biobased solutions through the application of monomer regeneration, recycling (for polyamides based fibres and films) and composting/anaerobic digestion (for polyesters based films) processes. The idea that “the end is a new beginning” will indeed drive the products design and realization. The project covers the whole value chain: feedstock production, conversion into innovative biobased building blocks through biotechnological and chemical processes, formulation of innovative biobased polymers (polyesters and polyamides), final products development, end-of-life products management and processing. The project intends to represent a key milestone towards the future industrialization of biobased fibres and films production in Europe foreseeing the mobilization of relevant investments by involved industry partners and fostering the adoption of multi-stakeholders collaboration models to demonstrate effective ways to develop new cases of biobased economy interconnected with circular regenerative economy joining environmental sustainability and economic profitability.

Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned at a huge environmental and societal cost. Textile production is one of the most polluting industries, producing 1.2 billion tons of CO2e per year – more than international flights and maritime shipping. Apparel consumption is projected to rise to 102 million tons by 2030 – a 63% increase equivalent to more than 500 billion T-shirts. As a result, the challenges this project is targeting to solve are becoming even more critical. The textile industry - along with government officials, environmental organizations, and consumers - agree that it’s imperative to make a change towards sustainable production and consumption. There’s a will and an urgent call for change. Existing solutions cannot recycle the growing piles of discarded textiles. There hasn’t been a feasible alternative on the market that would be affordable, environmentally sustainable and provide the required mechanical properties and functionality. Infinited Fiber Company’s cellulose carbamate technology enables textile waste that is currently burned or landfilled to be turned into cost efficient, cotton-like fiber with superior qualities. The patented process can digest cotton rich textile waste (including mixed fibers) and other cellulose based waste feedstocks. The diverse feedstock range is a technological advantage diminishing the need for virgin raw materials. This project will demonstrate that circular, sustainable production and consumption can be a reality. Bringing together the whole circular textile value chain, we will demonstrate an approach where post-consumer waste textiles are recycled with the IFC technology into new fibers and textiles with considerably lower environmental impact while fulfilling brand and consumer performance requirements. In collaboration with leading global brands, the regenerated New Cotton textiles are converted to apparel and launched to consumers to validate their market.

Based on an internationally patented technology, the project foresees to bring at industrial level (through a completely functional pilot plant) the usage of microwaves as Process Intensification approach (through an electromagnetic catalytical effect) of the well-known alkaline hydrolysis depolymerization reaction. Such reaction was, up to know, economically unfeasible due to a certain number of technological constraints that DEMETO finally solves. Coordinated by PROCESSI INNOVATIVI, R&D company of a large EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) group, but supported by a large basis of SMEs that will bring the most innovative aspects of the project technology, DEMETO's Consortium is composed by highly skilled members, which can guarantee the appropriate exploitation of the project business case, also thanks to the involvement of all the major commercial stakeholders of the PET value chain, including the most relevant Customer Segments. In fact, having followed all previous steps from lab-level testing (TRL3) to industrial demonstration of the core reactor (TRL6), we are now in the position to further move the technology towards its market deployment, by building a pilot plant (containing a full reactive unit) that would act as industrial demonstration of the performances of DEMETO's de-polymerization approach to the market. One of the project major strengths is in fact that the market is ready to accept DEMETO's technology. The existing value chain of post-consumer recovery of PET plastic waste is perfectly apt to accept the introduction of a new "ring of the chain", that would close the loop into a circular economy model, acting either at the end of the chain (mechanical recyclers) or at its beginning (PET producers). This gives us a total addressable market of about 60 plants in Europe (270 worldwide), for a value of around €1.2bn (€5.4bn worldwide).