Athens, March 2025 - At the official review meeting, two EU representatives assessed, among other things, the project progress and the realistic achievability of the project objectives set for the joint project.
The European joint project EuReComp (European Recycling and Circularity in Large Composite Components) aims to develop sustainable circular solutions for fibre-reinforced composite materials such as those used in wind turbines and the aviation industry. As there are currently no established concepts for recycling these materials, their development is at the centre of the project, which is now in its third year.
From 18 to 20 March 2025, three key events took place in Athens as part of the joint project: an internal progress meeting, an international workshop and a review meeting organised by the project partners involved. The team from the Composite Circularity Lab at HTWK Leipzig, represented by Prof Robert Böhm, Philipp Johst, Marten Tschatschanidse and Jannick Schneider, also took part.
Results from all work packages were presented at the progress meeting. The project partner INEGI presented, among other things, development progress from work package 3 (WP3). In close collaboration with the Composite Circularity Lab team, a large-scale PV floating demonstrator was developed in which, among other things, repurposed rotor blade segments were used as floats for a photovoltaic system. A successful field test confirmed the suitability of rotor blade structures as load-bearing floats. Further information can be found here.
In the subsequent international workshop, a broad spectrum of projects on the topic of recycling fibre composites was also presented. The aim was to share basic principles, current findings and challenges in the field of recycling and reuse of fibre composite structures with students in particular. The workshop was divided into two parts: In the first part, specialist presentations were given to highlight synergies between projects and gain new impetus for their own research work. The second part involved an extensive lab tour through selected laboratories at the National Technical University of Athens to demonstrate the technological possibilities on site.
The participation of HTWK students Marten Tschatschanidse and Jannick Schneider was made possible thanks to the financial support of the HTWK Leipzig Sponsors' Association and represents a significant contribution to the further internationalisation of studies and networking with international research institutions.
The final event was the official review meeting, at which two EU representatives assessed the progress of the project. They confirmed that the project objectives were realistically achievable and formulated recommendations for the further implementation of the EuReComp project.
ECKDATA EuReCOMP project
Project duration: 04/2022 - 03/2026
Funding: The joint project is funded by the European Union's central funding programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe.
Project coordinator: National Technical University of Athens (Greece)
University partners: Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology TU Dresden, Politecnico di Torino (Italy), University of Patras (Greece)
Industrial partners: Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (aviation supplier), Dallara Automobil (automotive industry, Italy), Anthony, Patrick and Murta Exportacao (wind energy sector, Portugal) and IRES (life cycle assessment, Belgium)
Research institute: Kunststoff-Zentrum in Leipzig gGmbH