The CompSTLar project is revolutionizing the full lifecycle of composite aerostructures for aviation by integrating advanced digital and sustainable methods. It focuses on thermoplastic composites – lightweight, strong materials that are fully recyclable – and on enabling zero-defect manufacturing, real-time structural health monitoring, and digitally-guided repairs. In practice, this means building an interoperable digital framework (using digital twins and modular data pipelines) that links design, manufacturing, testing and end-of-life recycling for aircraft parts. By validating new manufacturing concepts and repair strategies, CompSTLar aims to make future aircraft lighter and more durable and easier to recycle, thereby reducing fuel use, emissions and waste. CompSTLar’s work on digital twins and circular end-of-life strategies directly supports RECAP’s goals in aerospace composites, demonstrating how smart digitalization can extend material life and enable more sustainable aviation.

The iBot4CRMs project targets Europe’s supply of critical raw materials (CRMs) by harnessing AI-powered robotic systems to “urban mine” valuable metals from electronic and industrial waste. iBot4CRMs is developing integrated, self-learning robots that can identify and extract elements like neodymium, copper, gold and silver – materials crucial for electronics and decarbonization technologies. By deploying these intelligent robots in urban recycling centers and industrial sites, the project maximizes CRM recovery and feeds them back into the supply chain, strengthening European data sovereignty and resilience. This aligns with RECAP’s focus on digital innovation: iBot4CRMs showcases how advanced vision systems, machine learning and robotics can turn waste streams into strategic resources, supporting circularity and competitiveness in the manufacturing sector.

The ICARUS initiative addresses waste from heavy industries (minerals, cement, steel, etc.) by advancing innovative recycling technologies. It collects diverse process industry byproducts (such as slag, ash and tailings) and repurposes them into construction materials. For instance, ICARUS is developing processes to reuse lithium extraction waste, iron/steel slag and even cellulosic wastewater byproducts within the construction sector. By converting these industrial residues into high-quality building components, ICARUS promotes a circular economy in energy- and resource-intensive sectors. Its efforts complement RECAP’s cluster goals: by providing sustainable, tech-driven solutions for industrial waste reuse, ICARUS helps reduce landfill and raw material demand while digitalizing industry practices in line with EU green strategies.

The Wood2Wood project tackles the growing problem of construction and demolition (C&D) wood waste. Its ambition is “to redefine how we manage wood waste” by developing scalable processes for sorting, cleaning and recycling contaminated waste wood into new, high-value products. Wood2Wood leverages advanced sensor-based sorting, human–robot collaboration and mixed-reality tools to separate clean wood from pollutants, then applies cascade refinement (including chemical and biological treatments) to upcycle it. The result is a circular framework that dramatically reduces virgin timber demand and landfill, helping combat deforestation. Within RECAP, Wood2Wood brings this wood-focused expertise to a wider conversation on material recovery, demonstrating how digital tools and cross-sector cooperation can close the loop on renewable resources.

The BIO4EEB project promotes bio-based materials in the construction industry to enhance building energy performance and reduce carbon footprints. It develops insulation materials from renewable resources (e.g. Posidonia seagrass and bio-based foams) and validates them in real building components. BIO4EEB’s circular approach covers all levels of a building (from the material itself to finished facades and windows), aiming to boost sustainability by cutting embodied energy and harmful emissions in buildings. By proving that bio-based products can meet construction standards and by applying digital quality assessment methods, BIO4EEB adds a bioeconomy dimension to RECAP. In the cluster, it shares insights on biomaterials recovery and lifecycle assessment, showing how renewable material flows can be integrated with AI and digital modelling to create greener building supply chains.