Imagine trying to separate salt and pepper after they've already been mixed together; that's how hard it is to recycle blended clothes. This project creates a high-tech sorting system and a chemical process to pull these fabrics apart. It also builds a digital 'ID card' for materials so recyclers know exactly what they are handling.
Less than 1% of textile waste is recycled into new clothing because mixed cotton-polyester blends are technically difficult and expensive to separate. This leads to millions of tons of resources being landfilled or incinerated.
An AI-powered hyperspectral imaging sorting system and a Digital Material Passport (DMP) for tracking textile streams. They also developed chemical purification and separation processes for cotton and polyester fractions.
If you are a clothing brand dealing with the 2025 EU mandatory textile waste collection — this project developed a way to turn mixed cotton-polyester waste into high-quality secondary fibers. This allows you to create new clothes with identical properties to those made from virgin resources.
If you are a sorting facility dealing with the technical challenge of identifying fabric blends — this project developed AI-based hyperspectral imaging and digital sorting tools. This improves efficiency and helps match the supply of waste to the demand of recyclers.
If you are a chemical company dealing with the high cost of virgin raw materials — this project developed purification and separation technologies for polyester fractions. This enables the production of valuable polyester products from waste streams.
Based on available project data, specific pricing is not provided, but the project aims to make the process economically viable to turn waste into a business opportunity for SMEs.
The project has already moved into laboratory and pilot-scale trials for textile purification to ensure the process can be scaled for the European market.
Based on available project data, the project is developing a data-sharing marketplace to match feedstock supply and demand, though specific licensing terms are not listed.
Textile waste collection will become mandatory in EU member states by 2025, creating an immediate need for the sorting and recycling solutions developed here.
The project runs from 2024-01-01 to 2027-12-31, with current work focusing on initial algorithms and pilot trials.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven with 14 industrial partners (61% of the group), including 9 SMEs. This high ratio of commercial entities across 11 countries suggests a strong focus on market viability and a direct pipeline from research to industrial application.
Contact TEKNOLOGIAN TUTKIMUSKESKUS VTT OY in Finland
Contact us to connect with the PESCO-UP consortium for licensing and pilot partnerships.
