Every year, Europe throws away over 3 million tonnes of old tyres. Right now, the rubber in those tyres gets ground up and used for low-grade stuff like playground surfaces — it never makes it back into real rubber products. This project cracked the code on "unvulcanizing" tyre rubber, essentially reversing the chemical process that makes rubber tough and durable, so it behaves like brand-new rubber again. The result is a recycled material called Value-Rubber that manufacturers can drop straight into their existing production lines instead of buying expensive virgin rubber.
European manufacturers depend on expensive virgin rubber while over 3 million tonnes of End-of-Life Tyres pile up every year. Current recycling only grinds tyres into low-grade granulate for surfaces and fillers — the rubber never returns to real manufacturing. This means wasted resources, higher costs, and growing regulatory pressure around circular economy compliance.
The consortium built DevulCore, a modular devulcanization plant that fully reverses the vulcanization of tyre rubber, producing a recycled material (Value-Rubber) that can substitute virgin rubber in conventional manufacturing processes. The deliverable confirms the modular prototype was assembled and working at target operational parameters.
If you are a rubber goods manufacturer dealing with rising raw material costs and supply chain pressure for virgin rubber — this project developed DevulCore, a devulcanization technology that produces recycled rubber you can use as a direct substitute for virgin rubber in your existing production lines. The consortium projects end-user savings of €965.62 M across Europe.
If you are an ELT recycler stuck selling low-value granulated rubber for downcycling applications — this project built a modular DevulCore plant that turns your tyre granulate into high-value recycled rubber, opening an entirely new premium market. Over 3 million tonnes of ELTs are generated in Europe every year, and this technology lets you capture far more value from that waste stream.
If you are an automotive supplier under pressure to increase recycled content in your components while meeting strict quality standards — this project demonstrated that fully devulcanized tyre rubber can substitute virgin rubber in conventional manufacturing. The consortium expects the technology to create 1,802 new jobs and save 4.64 million tonnes of CO2.
The project does not publish specific pricing per kilogram. However, the objective projects savings of €965.62 M for European end-users over the 2022-2025 period, which strongly suggests the recycled rubber is significantly cheaper than virgin alternatives. Exact pricing would need to be discussed with the consortium.
The project delivered a modular prototype that was assembled and confirmed working at the target operation parameters. The consortium's business plan includes commercialization of both the DevulCore technology and the Value-Rubber product, as well as operation of a first commercial DevulCore plant. This is beyond lab-scale but pre-commercial.
DevulCore is a proprietary recycling technology developed by the 7-partner consortium led by a Spanish technology center. Based on available project data, the consortium plans to commercialize the technology and the Value-Rubber product. Licensing or technology purchase terms would need to be negotiated directly with the consortium.
The project objective states that Value-Rubber achieves complete devulcanization, producing recycled rubber with maximized potential to be used as a full substitute for virgin rubbers in conventional manufacturing processes. The modular prototype deliverable confirms it was working at the target parameters.
The project directly addresses the EU Waste Framework Directive requirements for End-of-Life Tyre management established since 2008. It converts open-loop downcycling into true closed-loop recycling, keeping rubber at its highest value. The projected 4.64 million tonnes of CO2 savings supports corporate sustainability reporting.
The project ran from September 2019 to August 2022 and is now closed. A modular prototype was assembled and working. The consortium's business plan targeted the 2022-2025 period for commercial rollout, so the technology should be approaching market availability. Direct contact with the consortium is needed for current status.
The VALUE-RUBBER consortium is strongly industry-driven: 5 out of 7 partners are from industry (71%), with 3 SMEs, backed by 1 university and 1 research organization across Spain, Belgium, and France. The coordinator is a Spanish technology center specializing in footwear and plastics — relevant materials expertise. This is not an academic exercise: the heavy industry presence and the Fast Track to Innovation funding scheme signal a consortium built to commercialize, not just publish papers. The geographic spread across 3 EU countries with strong manufacturing bases (automotive, rubber goods) gives the technology access to key European markets.
The coordinator is ASOCIACION EMPRESARIAL DE INVESTIGACION CENTRO TECNOLOGICO DEL CALZADO Y DEL PLASTICO DE LA REGION DE MURCIA in Spain. SciTransfer can facilitate a direct introduction.
Want to explore whether DevulCore recycled rubber fits your production line? SciTransfer can arrange a technical briefing with the consortium and help you evaluate integration feasibility.
