PELLENC SELECTIVE TECHNOLOGIES

Their core work

Pellenc Selective Technologies is a French SME that designs and manufactures optical sorting machines — primarily using Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy — to automatically identify and separate different types of plastic and packaging materials in industrial waste streams. In EU research projects, they contribute hands-on sorting hardware expertise, helping consortia move circular economy concepts from theory to physical implementation on sorting lines. Their two H2020 projects reveal a clear dual competency: broad circular economy strategy for plastics (including bio-based and compostable materials) and highly technical end-of-life processing methods such as digital watermarking-assisted identification, mechanical recycling, and supercritical CO2 decontamination. They operate as an industrial anchor in research partnerships, grounding academic and policy partners in real-world sorting feasibility.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their earliest H2020 work (SEALIVE, 2019) sits at the strategic and material level — bio-based plastics, composting, biodegradation, sustainable business models, and circular economy policy — suggesting a role in validating how sorting technology fits into broader environmental frameworks. By 2021 (CIMPA), the focus had shifted sharply toward technical process specifics: NIR sorting, digital watermarking, mechanical and physical recycling, scCO2 decontamination, and food contact safety — all much closer to industrial sorting-line implementation. The trajectory is clear: from circular economy strategy participation toward precision recycling engineering and regulatory compliance for difficult-to-recycle plastic formats.

They are moving deeper into high-value, technically complex recycling problems — multilayer films, food contact safety, digital watermarking — making them a strong fit for future projects where sorting accuracy and regulatory compliance for recycled content are the core challenges.

How they like to work

Pellenc ST has exclusively joined projects as a participant, never taking a coordinating role, which is consistent with an industrial SME that provides specific equipment or technology expertise within larger, multi-partner research programmes. Their two projects involved very large consortia (collectively 42 unique partners across 15 countries), indicating they are comfortable operating as one specialist node among many rather than driving project management. This suggests they are a reliable, focused contributor — partners can expect precise technical input on sorting and processing, not consortium leadership.

Despite only two H2020 projects, Pellenc ST has built a surprisingly broad network of 42 unique partners spanning 15 countries, reflecting the large, pan-European consortia typical of the IA and RIA funding schemes they joined. Their network skews toward European industrial and research partners working on plastics, packaging, and circular economy.

What sets them apart

Among French SMEs active in circular economy H2020 projects, Pellenc ST is distinctive because they bring real sorting hardware to the table — not just modelling or policy advice. That industrial credibility (a company that actually makes machines that separate waste) is rare in research consortia dominated by universities and institutes, and it accelerates the path from lab result to sorting-line deployment. For consortium builders, they close the gap between material science innovation and the physical infrastructure needed to make recycling economically viable at scale.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CIMPA
  The highest-funded project (EUR 250,584) and the most technically specific to their core competency, combining NIR sorting, digital watermarking, scCO2 decontamination, and EFSA compliance for multilayer plastic films — a particularly difficult recycling challenge.
• SEALIVE
  A longer, broader project (2019–2024) addressing both terrestrial and marine plastic pollution with bio-based solutions, giving Pellenc ST exposure to policy, standardisation, and sustainable business model dimensions beyond their hardware expertise.