Goals - Impact

First of all, REDONDO will revolutionise the PEX formulation process, enabling industry to further substitute or decrease its reliance on other harmful materials (in certain applications). Additionally, REDONDO will introduce the use of biobased and green additives, such as lignin and cellulose, further increasing the sustainability of the end-products. The technological advancements brought by REDONDO will open up a multitude of new business opportunities for EU recycling industry, while the project’s contribution to increased product safety will be invaluable for the consumers and general public.

Regarding the long term impacts of the project, the potential expansion of rPEX to other applications besides pipes and cables, due to the expected property enhancement, but also the extension of similarly based scientific advancements of reversibility to other polyolefins, is expected to contribute to the resilience and sustainability potential of the European polymer value chain, supporting the twin green and digital transformation, in a number of ways. REDONDO will contribute to the circular transition, with beneficial long-term impacts to the European polymer manufacturing value chain. The decoupling of a linear business model from fossil-fuels and the transition to a circular one, based on recycling, even for high added value applications like in the case of rPEX, can also support the decoupling of the EU polymer manufacturing from global supply chains. This will reduce the susceptibility of this EU value chain to global trade disruptions and raw material dependency (thus cost-dependency), rendering it more resilient.

Furthermore, REDONDO is expected to have a positive long-term impact in the general adoption of the key enabling technologies of Safe-by-Design (SbD) and Sustainable by Design (SusbD) rPEX development by providing a set of criteria and guiding principles for the case of PEX and a roadmap for other applications.

Last but not least, from the societal perspective, REDONDO will have direct impacts in the production of cleaner, toxic- and pollutant-free materials. The increased rPEX product and additive safety, as well as the reduction of environmental footprint are key outcomes of the project and are expected to contribute positively to the sector in the long-term, especially assuming the successful technology update of the project’s developments. These solutions will provide safe and sustainable alternatives for materials and additives that are currently potentially harmful for human health and the environment, decoupling them from fossil-fuel based raw material.