EverGLASS PROJECT

The New Role of Glass in a Sustainable Society. Technology for the Integral Recycling of Glass

Acronym:

EverGLASS

Project number:

101129967

Call identifier:

HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDEROPEN-01

Topic:

HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDEROPEN-01-01

Type of Action:

HORIZON EIC Grants

Granting authority:

European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency

Coordinator:

Universidad de Vigo, Spain

Funding:

€ 2 961 225.00 (TnUAD: €540 500.00)

Duration:

1 January 202 – 31 December 2026

Website: www.everglassproject.eu

Social media accounts:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/everglass-eu/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EVERGLASS_EU

Consortium:

Universidad de Vigo, Spain

Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Spain

Trencianska Univerzita Alexandra Dubceka v Trencine, Slovakia

European Science Communication Institute (ESCI) GGMBH, Germany

Actalia Association, France

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung Ev, Germany

Logo:

The project objective:

Glass recycling uses mature technology limited by high energy consumption to melt tons of glass and the inflexibility of a heavy-duty system. Current technology only allows the recycling of certain glasses and a very small amount of waste generated. A new technology is required to allow the integral recycling of all types of glass, drastically reducing the carbon footprint. EverGLASS proposes to develop a radically new technology called “glass laser transformation” for on-site glass recycling and the generation of customized or technical

products. Users will feed waste into a new machine and select which new product to get. The vision is ambitious, as it aims to bring to the consumer market a novel technology to enable virtually infinite reuse of glass. It is also radical since, through a multipurpose system capable of being located on any site, it proposes an alternative approach to the traditional centralized recycling process (particularly where this model is not possible, generating thousands of tons of glass waste annually taken to landfills). The new technology goes

beyond the current limitations of the systems (high energy use, expensive and rigid process, strong logistical requirement), adopting a highly environmentally friendly model that will allow flexibility in the use of the material and in the process. Therefore, EverGLASS has the potential to revolutionize recycling as a concept. It also addresses one of the main problems with recycling, user participation, in an innovative way by allowing the personalization of recycled items of different use. Finally, it aims to encourage the use and reuse of glass as a quality material, displacing more environmentally problematic materials, such as plastics. This project brings together experts from advanced laser technologies (UVIGO), glass and ceramics science (ICV-CSIC), glass processing and engineering (TnUAD), risk and impact assessment (ACTALIA), Social Sciences (ESCI) and numerical simulation (ITWM).

Consortium: