Effective reuse, remanufacturing and recycling of non-renewable material resources are of crucial importance for a climate-neutral and resource-scarce society. In Circular Economy (CE) closing the material loops starts from the material design and detailed analysis of the materials and products during the whole material life cycle. High-added-value materials needed for e.g. ICT, transportation and renewable energy applications are typically complex hybrid materials primarily designed for high performance, rather than for easy recovery. In the CloseLoop research project we take a multi-disciplinary approach towards closing the loops of high-added-value materials in the secondary circle of the materials flow. The project combines social studies on consumer behaviour, public acceptance and effective policy measures with high-level material design and life cycle design.

The consortium partners from Aalto University, VTT and the University of Helsinki bring in expertise on technical innovations, business models and societal behavior. In addition to the scientific findings and key enabling technologies to be developed, we will transfer the new knowledge gained to the relevant current and potential industrial actors as well as turn it into easily usable information for decision makers and the general public in order speed up the transition to circular economy.

The project is part of the programme ‘A Climate-Neutral and Resource-Scarce Finland’. The CloseLoop consortium is funded 3.6 Me during 2016-19 by the Strategic Research Council.

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