The transition toward a fully circular economy requires more than just a bold vision—it demands actionable, cutting-edge technology and seamless, secure collaboration across the entire supply chain. At the RecAL project (Recycling Technologies for Circular Aluminium), our consortium partners are developing the specialized tools needed to fundamentally transform how Europe sorts, simulates, and shares data regarding secondary aluminium.
Aluminium remains a cornerstone of modern industry, vital to everything from transport and construction to packaging. Because it can be recycled almost indefinitely using only a fraction of the energy required for primary production, maximizing its reuse is critical to meeting Europe’s decarbonization goals.
Recently, we’ve taken our cameras behind the scenes to showcase the people and the facilities driving these Horizon Europe-funded innovations. Below, we explore three new videos from our partners at LEITAT in Barcelona, UniMore in Modena, and CANCOM in Vienna, highlighting the physical, mechanical, and digital pillars of the RecAL project.
LEITAT: Pioneering Automated Sorting and Robotics (Barcelona)
During our recent Consortium meeting in Barcelona, we had the opportunity to visit the DFactory hub—a premier center for Industry 5.0—to meet with Bastien Hualpa at the LEITAT Technological Center. LEITAT plays a crucial role in the physical processing and sorting of recycled materials within the RecAL framework.
In this video, Bastien walks us through LEITAT’s state-of-the-art facilities, which include dedicated robotics, photonics, and AI laboratories. By combining optical technologies for material identification with AI-driven data analytics and advanced robotics, LEITAT is fully automating and optimizing the scrap sorting process.
This multi-layered approach to sorting increases our impurity tolerance, ensuring that secondary aluminium can be processed more efficiently while maintaining the rigorous high-performance standards required by demanding industrial sectors. LEITAT’s work directly enables a greater volume of secondary aluminium to re-enter the supply chain seamlessly.
UniMore: Ensuring Robust Design with Secondary Alloys (Modena)
Earlier this year, we visited the Enzo Ferrari Department of Engineering at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (UniMore). There, Associate Professor Alberto Vergnano detailed the complexities of integrating secondary aluminium into highly sensitive manufacturing processes, such as gravity and low-pressure die casting.
Traditional manufacturing simulations are reliable only when material parameters are entirely consistent. Secondary alloys, however, inherently introduce variability in chemical composition and, consequently, mechanical properties. UniMore’s goal within RecAL is to integrate this variation directly into simulation models to achieve what they call a genuinely “robust design.”
Leading a cluster of critical work packages, UniMore is developing expert-level tools including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) models, rapid material qualification protocols, and robust design frameworks. These tools ensure that end-products made from secondary aluminium deliver the exact same consistent quality as those made from primary aluminium. These will be real, usable tools for practitioners to secure supply chains across the EU—achievements that will be further showcased when UniMore hosts our consortium meeting in September 2026.
CANCOM: Building the Sovereign Data Exchange (Vienna)
Physical recycling technologies and advanced manufacturing simulations must be supported by a secure, trustworthy digital infrastructure. From their facilities in Vienna, our partners at CANCOM explain how they are building the RecAL Dataspace—a 100% decentralized, zero-trust digital platform that acts as the nervous system for the entire project.
One of the biggest hurdles in achieving a circular economy is empowering competitors to securely share proprietary industrial data. CANCOM addresses this by providing a highly secure, sovereign data exchange. Crucially, data owners retain absolute control over their information, deciding exactly who can access their data and under what specific conditions.
This digital infrastructure is the backbone of the RecAL Hub and the Digital Product Passport. It not only enables traceability and the sharing of technical data sheets, but it also powers a dynamic matchmaking marketplace that connects the supply and demand of aluminium scrap across Europe. By ensuring trust and data sovereignty, CANCOM is making it possible for the European aluminium industry to collaborate safely, retain valuable resources, and remain profitable.
Tristan Bath (RTDS Group)
