Circular Plastics NL: € 17 million for four projects in the plastics chain

The Circular Plastics NL grant scheme through RVO has been made available to entrepreneurs and researchers operating in the plastics industry or conducting research on the reuse of plastic waste streams. On May 1, RVO announced it was providing grants to four projects from this scheme. The application period ran from Oct. 12, 2023, to Jan. 11, 2024.

About the scheme
The grant is aimed at promoting recycling and creating an economy in which raw material flows are used in a circular way. Entrepreneurs could apply for grants for research projects or showcases that solve bottlenecks and improve the quality of recyclate. The grant was divided among several topics within the plastics industry. On four topics, applications were approved that met specific conditions and were assessed on the relevance of the project and cooperation with chain partners, among other things:

• Monitoring Quality in Plastic Recycling | NTCP, Maastricht University, TNO, LyondellBasell, Danone, Graham Packaging, Verpact | € 1.9 million
• TEXPOWER | Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI), Kringcoop, Frankenhuis, Saxion Hogeschool, CELLiCON, Textile Fiber Boost, SaXcell, Spinning Jenny, Enschede Textielstad Innovation B.V. | €4.7 million
• SKILLS | Trioworld, Grolsch, Broeckx Plastic Recycling, NTCP | €2.9 million
• Cap-to-Cap Recycling | Morssinkhof Plastics, Sabic, Corvaglia Mould AG, Coca-Cola, DUCARES | € 7.4 million

For two other subjects, the deadline for review was extended.

"The start of the four projects is an important step for improving the quality of plastics recycling and also confirms the complexity," said Marc Spekreijse, director of Circular Plastics NL. "From recycling cotton-polyester textiles to researching new techniques to characterize residual and sorting streams, the diversity in the projects illustrates the challenge we face. As a program, we offer not only financial support, but also our expertise and an active network to collaborate with researchers and entrepreneurs on better solutions that pursue a circular economy."

Project launch and preview
On May 28, we invited all participants and interested parties to a contact afternoon. Here the selected projects are invited to explain their initiative. NTCP and Brightlands Circular Space will also present their plans for open infrastructure. In addition to providing insight into the selected projects, the event in Utrecht offers opportunities to connect with investors, experts from RVO and policy makers from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. You can register here: https: //circularplasticsnl.org/agenda/projectslaunch/

New schemes
In 2024, another €30 million will be made available by CPNL for a new round of grants. This scheme will be shaped in part by identifying key issues and bottlenecks in the market. After a positive assessment of the mid-term evaluation of the program, a budget of 43 million euros is expected for the period 2025 and 2026.

About Circular Plastics NL

The program focuses on the bottlenecks within various value chains. The aim is to use subsidies to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, with the ultimate goal of a 100% circular plastics chain in NL by 2050.