United Circles EU 2024-2028

United Circles EU 

Networked industrial-urban symbiosis value chain demonstrators for biomaterials, C&DW, circular water loops & WWTPs, driven by Hubs 4 Circularity

United Circles project will demonstrate, with 46 partners across 14 countries and an international body, three Industrial-Urban Symbiosis value chains, to upcycle urban Food Waste, urban Wastewater, and urban Construction & Demolition Waste (C&DW).

The aim is to close urban and industrial water loops to reduce freshwater use in drought prone regions and integrate energy co-generation technology in upcycling pathways. This will be made possible by advancing innovative technologies from TRL5 to TRL7 in combined integrated value chains, to enable zero waste cities and a decarbonised Process Industry. The value chains cover collection, sorting, upcycling and production of new upcycled products.

United Circles Project will demonstrate how:

  1. A demolished building’s C&DW can be transformed into a new 2 storey 3D printed building with upcycled low-carbon cement, cement bonded particle boards, and insulation foam;
  2. A wastewater treatment plant can become a resource recovery centre for all materials, water and energy, in an integrated manner by supplying high quality gas to the local gas grid, by providing upcycled cellulose as industrial feedstock to pulp & paper industries, and by providing clean water and fertilizer for agriculture;
  3. Food waste in the form of used cooking oil can be upcycled in a first application of 2nd generation biorefinery to create novel fully biodegradable and food waste origin bioplastic products for complete replacement of fossil fuels.

The United Circles 3 value chain demonstrators will each be integrated in a Hub 4 Circularity (H4C), that will underpin their Industrial-Urban networks governance and evolution, using advanced governance frameworks, feasibility towards financing methodologies, digital tools, social and environmental innovations and a material and products observatory. The H4C’s will enable businesses that seek to expand the demonstrator integrated technologies to higher TRL levels to territory plans, together with their regional stakeholder network.

 For more information you can visit the project's website