January 2026
GAIKER and PLASTIBOR participated in the 2nd Kimika Hackathon, held in Bilbao and organized by AVEQ-KIMIKA (the Basque Association of Chemical Companies), with the objective of identifying innovative concepts to advance the circularity of industrial waste. GAIKER and PLASTIBOR chaired the working group dedicated to production waste derived from glass‑fibre‑reinforced polyester (GFRP), one of the four waste streams under consideration and which is currently disposed of through landfilling.
The working group was composed of key stakeholders across the value chain, primarily representatives from industrial sectors generating this specific type of waste, as well as leading centres and experts in waste treatment committed to identifying a scalable industrial solution. The group identified the principal challenges associated with GFRP treatment from a short‑ and medium‑term perspective, together with the requirements for ensuring the feasibility of an industrial‑scale proposal. Strengths and weaknesses were also assessed by analysing the boundary conditions necessary to establish an environmentally sound and economically viable system.
Initiatives of this kind underscore the relevance of projects such as CICLO, which aims to provide solutions to current challenges by transforming waste into new secondary raw materials with characteristics comparable to those of the original materials. The activities under development within the project will support the definition of recycling procedures for polyester resin waste and will contribute to enhancing its circularity.
Second consortium meeting of the CICLO project
On October 1, 2025, AITIIP Technology Center held the face-to-face consortium meeting at its Zaragoza facilities, corresponding to the 9-month CICLO project. The meeting was attended by the eight consortium companies belonging to the CDTI group and the six research organizations that make up the State Research Agency group.
The meeting focused on reviewing the project’s progress, with the leaders of the research lines presenting updates on technical advances. Participants discussed achievements and results, highlighting progress made and next steps.
After reviewing the project’s technical progress, AITIIP offered all attendees a tour of its research laboratories and the equipment used, among others, for the CICLO project’s research activities.
Kick off meeting
On January 28th, ACCIONA organized the launch meeting for the “CICLO: Cooperation and Research for Circularity in the Wind Energy Industry” project at its Madrid Campus.
The four-year project is part of the TransMisiones 2024 initiative, a collaboration between the CDTI and the AEI. It focuses on researching and developing new technological solutions to boost the circular economy in the field of renewable energy, specifically in the recycling and recovery of wind turbine blades and other composite components used in wind turbine construction.
The initiative is being developed by eight companies led by ACCIONA, including AFESA, INPRE, OMAR, PLASTIBOR, ITSA, EVOENZYME, and MENZOLIT; and six research organizations led by the GAIKER Technology Center, including ICTP-CSIC, ICP-CSIC, ICB-CSIC, AITIIP, and AITEX. The project falls under Mission 3, “Promoting the circular economy—specifically, recycling and recovery in the field of renewable energy and energy storage.”
Its main objective is to research new technologies for recycling and recovering blades and other components used in wind turbine construction. Research will also be conducted to develop alternative materials that are more easily recyclable.