The constantly increasing demand of scarce resources and critical raw materials (CRMs), requires efficient usage of resources - reuse and recycling of materials- and responsible waste management and prevention. The circular economy’s model establishes a virtuous cycle where products and resources can be reused, repurposed and recycled to maximize productivity of resources, to reduce waste and by products that can become raw materials (RMs) entering in other industrial processes, thus reducing the depletion of natural resources and the overall environmental effects on climate change. Plooto aims to deliver a Circular and Resilient Information System (CRIS) to support manufacturers in their green, digital and circular transition. CRIS enables waste reduction and end-to-end traceability of Secondary Raw Materials (SRM) through interconnected digital services for real-time decision making, monitoring and certification of materials and products. Plooto delivers: a) a transformation framework based on traceability strategies for materials/products per business case, with reference processes for SRM use from waste deposit to new products, and governance models for circular value chains; b) ICT tools for modelling product, production processes and supply chains, as an aggregation of individual component Digital Twins with cognition capabilities (cognitive Digital Twins – CDTs); c) Data will feed RM-recovery and waste dataspaces allowing the provision of material certification and product passport; and d) A circular sustainability balanced scorecard (framework+toolkit) to assess impact of decision-making at CDT level based on various KPIs. The solution will be piloted in three different circular supply chains demonstrating waste reduction, reusability of scrap and production by-products, operational improvement.

PERMANET is a Sustainable REE Innovation and Supply Network covering the full Rare Earth Elements (REE) Permanent Magnet (PM) value chain. It is structured upon 5 layers: 1) Three Sustainable, Connected Tech ‘Hubs’ segmented along the full REE PM value chain and organizing thematic collaborative R&D and supply ecosystems 2) 13 fully Scalable Innovations to reach TRL7 and expand in scale and deployment range along the entire value chain 3) A structural layer of R&D infrastructure, equipment and services to fuel Pilot and Demonstration activities 4) Five Enabling “Engines” addressing the key conditions for sustainable and competitive REE supply 5) All embedded within a single PERMANET Network Infrastructure with its own, sustainable organizational model. The Network accelerates leading-edge innovations, from REE extraction from mining tailings and hydrometallurgical processes to oxide reduction and innovative production processes, all the way to the production of innovative PM and their testing by end users in industrial environment across 1/ E-Mobility 2/ Energy 3/ Industrial Equipment. PERMANET also secures key sources of REE such as leading mining projects from the EU and Partner Countries, as well as End of Life (EoL) sectors (WEEE, EV, etc.). The project relies on enabling activities ranging from strategic venturing to investment support to build sub-optimal EU REE PM Segments. The project unlocks viable reserves of REE including unconventional sources and will demonstrate novel, cost-effective, and environmentally sound REE extraction, processing, and separation routes, as well as demonstrate the first EU hub for PM boosting circular PM technologies to deploy at market scale. The project is ready to be fully integrated with other EU-backed PM Hubs and aims to grow into a fully-fledged Pan-EU pilot and demonstration infrastructure to remain sustainable post-funding.

PASSENGER addresses to the topic CE-SC5-10-2020 on raw materials innovation under subtopic d) Pilots on substitution of critical and scarce raw materials (2020). PASSENGER aims to develop innovative pilots to address an aspect of high economical, technological, social and environmental relevance: a solution for the EU dependency on rare-earths (REs) for permanent magnets (PMs), avoiding bottlenecks in the material supply-chain and diminishing the environmental impact. Considering the importance of PMs in present and emerging technologies, PASSENGER will develop up scaled alternatives based on widely available resources and innovative technologies. PASSENGER has a clear industrial orientation involving key end users and SMEs/LEs (13 industrial partners) from 8 EU countries. PASSENGER will develop a sustainable substitution pilot in PMs subdivided in 8 innovative pilot activities covering the complete value chain to finish at TRL7 and to guarantee implementation across the EU after the project is finished. The choice of PMs is based on realistic (envisioned up-scaling, low cost and environmental impact) projects results and patents (proven at TRL 4-5) achieved by the partners in successful EU projects: Improved Strontium ferrite (Sr-ferrite), Manganese-Aluminum-Carbon (MnAlC) and related technologies. These RE-free PM alternatives will substitute bonded NdDyFeB-magnets, which are constituted by diverse critical raw materials: REs (Nd and Dy, and Pr in some compositions); Metal (Cobalt). Electromobility has been chosen as a main key-driving sector with three application areas: Class 1: e-scooter; Class 2: e-bikes and e-motorbikes; Class 3: e-cars. The project will be done under premises of sustainability and reduced environmental impact, including Standardisation activities, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis, recyclability and social-life cycle assessment of PASSENGER’s products and technologies.